Fabray's Anatomy
by wildblessedfreedom
Summary: Four interns. Four messy love lives. New friendships, and new casualties. This is Harper Grace Hospital, and Quinn Fabray is about to find out just how difficult life there can be. CHANGED AUTHOR NAME- FORMERLY MARCHOFANERD.
1. Full Summary

**AN:** _So. I shouldn't really be adding a new story, seeing as I have a bunch of other stories that need updating, but when I get an idea for one that I think I'm really going to enjoy writing, I can't help it. I'm eager to see what you guys think, so without further ado..._

**Summary:** Five interns. Five messy love lives. New friendships, and new casualties. This is Harper Grace Hospital, and Quinn Fabray is about to find out just how difficult life there can be. The resident determined to prove himself to her doesn't help matters, either.

Basically, it's Glee turned Grey's Anatomy. *Waits for the 'You mad?' stares* I love both shows, and I've always wanted to do something like this. It follows the lives of Quinn, Rachel, Santana, Kurt and Sam in their journey as interns, with appearances from most of the other characters. It's Quinn-centric, with heavy Quinn/Puck. Rachel, Santana and Finn have big roles too, as well as slight Kurt and Blaine. Brittany, Mercedes, Sam have minor roles that may be upgraded as time goes on.

**Romantic Pairings:** Quinn/Puck, Rachel/Finn, Kurt/Blaine, Brittany/Santana. Most of these pairs are eventual.

**Friendships:** Quinn/Rachel, The five interns, Puck/Finn, Kurt/Santana, Santana/Quinn, Brittany/Santana, probably many more.

Obviously the first chapter will follow suit, so I hope you guys give it a read.

**NOTE:** While I religiously watch Grey's Anatomy and I'll do some research, I apologise if not all aspects of the hospital/doctor theme is realistic and/or accurate.

This story is also on Tumblr- the name's brbwatchingglee. So check me out there too! On a side note, most of my posts are related to Glee. Just sayin'...;)


	2. One Life Stand

**Fabray's Anatomy**

_To be a good surgeon, you have to think like a surgeon. Emotions are messy. ~ _Meredith Grey

**Chapter 1: One Life Stand**

* * *

><p>Quinn was jolted awake by the sudden beeping under her pillow, her head snapping up with her blonde hair all over her face. Groggily, she reached under it and pulled out her phone, before rolling over onto her back and sighing. She blinked, suddenly frowning as she realised that...this <em>wasn't <em>her home. Far from it, in fact. The walls were too dark, the room too _messy _to be her usually organised, clean room.

And the man next to her, she realised, was far too naked and far too unfamiliar to be someone she knew well.

Quinn gasped, suddenly much more awake as she sat up and took in the tan man next to her. She vaguely remembered...she'd been at the club, nervous about today...he was quite good looking, in all fairness. His face was a bit conceited, sure, but his torso was...well, she'd remember it well.

Shaking her head, she swiftly sat up, glancing at the clock turned on its side as she frantically picked up all of her possessions and pulled on her dress from last night. 8:32am. She had half an hour until she was expected to start her new job.

_Crap._

Taking one last glance at the man (Whose name her brain was struggling to remember), Quinn bolted out of the room, gently tiptoeing across the hall and barely registering the decor of the small apartment.

She opened the door, relieved to have made her exit swiftly and efficiently until-

'No goodbye?'

'Jesus!' Quinn jumped out of her skin, her bag whacking against the door while her hand flew to her heart. The man from last night was standing non-chalant against the bedroom doorframe, a pair of sweats obviously hastily pulled on as he yawned.

'Sorry.' He murmured weakly, smirking as she eyed him nervously, looking _anywhere _but his eyes or bare chest.

'It's- it's okay, I was just...I'm late for something, I start my new job at the-'

'No I get it. You'll make up for it when we go out for dinner tonight.'

'Excuse me?' She quirked an eyebrow as he walked lazily in her direction.

'Last night was...good. _Very _good.' His smirk grew wider. 'We should-'

'Never speak of last night again? Great.' She gave a small smile, and he raised his eyebrows before she continued. 'Listen...umm...' She bit her lip, racking her brain to think of his name before he gave a short chuckle and supplied it for her.

'Puck. Y'know you should remember that well, seeing as last night you were-'

'Right, Puck. Well, I- I wish you the best, and-'

'You're really not good at this, are you?' Puck laughed again, his eyes lighting up. Quinn frowned, before sighing.

'I'm not really...y'know, the one night stand kinda girl.' She admitted.

'Right.'

'So I'll...see you around, Puck.' She told him awkwardly, before getting out the door before he could say another word.

**XXX**

'Welcome to Harper Grace Hospital. All of you interns will be spending the next few years just as you are today- under complete and utter scrutiny and vowing to make it to the top of your game. This isn't medical school anymore, you're not being taught by the doctors- you _are _the doctors.'

Quinn took in the room as Dr Mercedes Jones addressed the large group, her heart thumping wildly as her eyes drank it all in. She was actually _here. _From the look on all the others faces, she knew she wasn't the only one this excited.

'While you're all here, I might add that you should get to know your competition, seeing as you'll all be spending a hell of a lot of time together.' Jones continued, and everyone stopped taking in their surroundings and looked at eachother, sizing eachother up. Quinn locked eyes with the Latina opposite her, meeting the dark haired girl's determined gaze with an equally fiery one before turning back to the doctor.

'Seeing as I've been here for five years, I might add that judging by past events, by the end of the month at least 10 of you will have cracked under the pressure and left. Most of you will completely change your specialty, and only a few will escape the month with complete success.'

A murmur of unease filled the room as Quinn shoved her hands into her new lab-coat pockets, biting her lip like she always did when nervous. She could do this. She just had to focus.

But looking at all the other interns and the fire in their eyes- she would have to work like _hell._

**XXX**

'Damn that girl Mercedes is a bit of a witch, huh? She looked positively _giddy _when she was talking about how so many people crack under pressure.'

'Okay, first of all it's _Dr Jones, _and second of all her emotions towards us don't matter, she is a _genius _doctor-'

'I'm just saying that she was a tad Nazi like-'

Quinn snorted slightly as the small, brown haired guy with an unusually high voice quickly snapped back at the blonde guy with big lips, the argument louder than any other tentative conversation in the room as all the interns hurriedly put their stuff into the lockers.

'How dare you, Dr Jones is-'

The argument was interrupted by a petite brunette that suddenly appeared by the two boys, her brown eyes wide and alert as she panted slightly.

'Excuse me, do any of you have Dr Hudson as your resident?'

Quinn stepped forward tentatively, not about to miss an opportunity to at least _talk _to someone. 'Umm, I do.'

The boys and the girl turned to her, the latter's face lighting up as she walked towards her. 'Oh thank god.' Her voice oozed with relief. 'The only other one I've found is that girl over there-' She tilted her head towards the Latina that Quinn had locked eyes with earlier, who was frowning as she texted someone on her blackberry, ignoring everyone else. '-and she just asked me if I was lost on my way to the shire.' She told her uncomfortably, and Quinn bit back laughter.

'Right. Umm- you're Rachel, right?'

'Yeah-'

'Not that you stayed long enough to listen, but I'm also on Hudson's service today. I'm Kurt, Kurt Hummel.' The flamboyant boy stated, smiling proudly at them both as him and the blonde edged closer.

'Me too.' The latter added uncomfortably and Quinn nodded- they didn't seem so bad..

One of the nurses began calling out names, sending the groups to their residents as they all waited nervously, anxious to get out of the 'welcome' department and into the _hospital _hospital.

'Berry, Rachel- Evans, Sam- Fabray, Quinn- Hummel, Kurt- and Lopez, Santana!'

The four of them glanced at eachother before moving forward towards the door, the Latina- obviously Santana- staring at them as she made her way. Quinn gave a slight curl of the lip that came out as a grimace, and Santana gave a small smile- not a particularly friendly one, but it was still something. Her group could be worse.

**XXX**

Dr Finn Hudson, it appeared, was plucked straight out of one of those Dramatic TV shows that you saw on Fox. His easy, crooked smile, light brown hair and eyes and generally boyish attitude made everyone instantly warm up to him, even Santana.

'Hey guys- so I guess you're my new interns. Awesome.' His grin grew wider, and Rachel giggled ever so slightly. Quinn raised her eyebrows at her before turning back. 'I'm Finn Hudson- you don't need to call me Dr Hudson or anything, I'm cool with Finn. So today we've got 32 year old Seth who was recently in a boat accident-'

As Finn led them towards the room, Santana edged up to Quinn. 'What's his deal?' She murmured haughtily, not looking at Quinn but instead keeping her eyes trained on Finn, who continued to speak animatedly with Rachel and Kurt obediently at his sides.

'But before we get onto that, I should mention that I need to give a few ground rules. Number one, you are not permitted to-'

'What do you mean?' Quinn whispered.

'You know.' Santana said, rolling her eyes slightly. 'He doesn't exactly seem very..._doctor _like does he? He looks fresh out of high school.' She snorted, and Quinn frowned slightly. She was getting the idea that Santana would not be an easy person to be around.

'I don't think-'

Suddenly Finn stopped, them all coming to a halt as a stretcher abruptly emerged out of the room they'd been about to go on, a man who was obviously the 32 year old Seth on writhing as the doctors surrounding him shouted out instructions.

'He's flat lining, we need to get him to an OR-'

'Shit-' Finn murmured, before going into auto-pilot and barging some doctors out of the way. Quinn turned to a shocked Santana, almost smirking.

'He seems very doctor-like to me.' She murmured as Finn began compressions.

'Rule number four, when I run you follow after!' He shouted behind him, the interns hastily hurrying after the stretcher.

Quinn was about to add something else when she caught a glimpse of the face of one of the doctors shouting stuff to Finn. A very familiar face.

'Oh crap..' She whispered to herself, her eyes fixed on no one other than _Puck _as he shouted at people to move. Almost as if he heard her thoughts, he suddenly looked at her dead in the face, stunned as he gaped slightly. She locked eyes with him, equally shocked before he got distracted and looked away. The doctors with the stretcher sprinted away, leaving the interns behind as Quinn's mind remained frantic.

The 'see you around' was _not _supposed to happen like this. If at fucking all.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you all enjoyed. I'm honestly not sure when I'll next update, but I have a few weeks off so hopefully they'll be soon. Please let me know what you think! xo<em>


	3. Time to Pretend

**Chapter 2: Time to Pretend**

_"I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it." ~ _Meredith Grey

* * *

><p>Quinn waited alone outside the OR Gallery, the other interns having gone to check out the cafeteria since FinnDr Hudson was still in surgery with Seth. They weren't exactly surprised at not being allowed in there with him- it _was _their first day.

But Quinn didn't even have the brainpower to care at that moment. She was...her mind was reeling, completely caught off guard. How could _he _be here? A resident? 'Dr Puckerman'- his first name was apparently Noah- a well respected neurosurgeon, according to Rachel (who apparently had researched every member of staff prior to coming to Harper Grace).

It was just so embarrassing- she had hoped to pass under the radar, just be a good surgeon and stuff. She did _not _expect to have a one night stand the night before, the other guy being a freaking surgeon here.

Luckily none of the others realised how she knew Puck...she dreaded to think of how they would react if they found out..._when_ they found out.

But no. She'd just ask politely if he would keep the night quiet, between them. He'd probably want that too, right? It couldn't be a good reputation to upkeep, the guy that sleeps with an intern the night before their first day.

It'd be fine. It had to be. She couldn't get a slutty reputation on her first day. Anything but a repeat of High School...

She turned when the door behind her burst open, and out strode Puck, looking more proud than other. Her breath hitched a bit in her throat as she stared, before he caught sight of her and immediately slowed. He looked just as shocked as before, and he stopped a few feet away from her.

'So _this _is your new job.' He said sheepishly, and she nodded, pulling her lab coat around herself more for reassurance.

'Yeah. And you...you're a surgeon here.'

Puck nodded. 'A pretty damn good one at that.' His signature smirk was back, his shield obviously down again. Quinn crossed her arms across her chest. 'Listen, about last night-'

'No- what are you- what do you mean? Last night didn't happen.' She spluttered, blushing furiously as she quickly checked to see no one was watching or listening. 'Dr Puckerman-'

Puck suddenly burst out laughing, catching her off guard. '_Dr Puckerman? _You've gotta be kidding me-'

'Why, do you prefer _Noah?' _She bit back, narrowing her eyes. She didn't remember him being this arrogant.

He frowned slightly, before: 'It's just Puck. But seriously, you don't have to be ashamed about last night- it's a lovely memory of mine actually-'

'It didn't happen.'

'Oh yes it did. And you enjoyed every second of it, as did I-'

'No I didn't.'

'-Though I wasn't as fond of the way you ditched me this morning-'

'I- I didn't _ditch _you- I-' She spluttered again for a minute, growing redder as his smile grew. It was a nicer smile than his smirk, it had to be said. It was making her stomach feel all..._weird _though so she threw her arms up in the air, giving up. 'Fine! I'll just say it- it _did _happen, I _did _enjoy it. But it's over, done, in the past- can we just forget it ever happened?'

Quinn saw something in his eyes then. A flicker of regret, or disappointment- or _something. _'Not until you agree to go out with me again.'

'Not gonna ha-'

'What the _hell _is wrong with you? Throwing yourself at a doctor while..'

Her and Puck both turned at the sudden shouting behind them, Dr Jones striding down the hall while yelling at Santana, whose arms were crossed sheepishly across her chest.

'He is your _resident, _you do _not _flirt with your residents to try and gain a little favouritism around here!' Dr Jones glared at Santana, who looked unfazed if not slightly embarrassed about being caught.

'Is there a problem here?' Puck moved away from Quinn, looking warily at the pair as Dr Jones turned to him.

'Yes, there damn well is- miss Lopez thinks that if she can get into Dr Hudson's pants that she'll get into an OR or something-'

'I never tried- I mean, I maybe flirted a little bit- I'm sorry, okay?' Santana told her and Puck firmly, eyes widening slightly as Quinn raised her eyebrows at the three of them in the background. 'I won't do it again.'

'You're right, you won't. You won't get the opportunity seeing as for the rest of the week you'll be on our Chief Pediatric Resident, Dr Pierce-'

'You've gotta be kidding me- I'm a Trauma specialist, you can't shove me with the Nursery-'

'I can and I will, now go there now before the Chief rethinks his decision to accept you into the internship program!' Dr Jones shouted, watching Santana scowl and walk away before turning back to Puck, who gave Quinn a strange look.

'Sorry about that. I need to talk to you about 6pm's surgery in OR 3 Puckerman-' She told him, and the two walked off, leaving Quinn behind, alone with her thoughts.

**XXX**

'...And then as soon as you and Rachel were gone and it was just her and us guys, she went all gooey over him, stuck to him like a freaking limb-'

'And even _then _he was oblivious?' Quinn asked curiously, biting into an apple as Kurt and Sam filled her in on what had gone down with Santana and Dr Hudson. They had found a table in the cafeteria, and the pair of boys were beginning to grow on Quinn. Kurt was absolutely hilarious, taking everything in his stride but just as ambitious as she was. Sam was less organised- a bit of a klutz, but he was quite mellow about it all.

'Pretty much- Santana had to basically spell out S-E-X to him before he got that she was coming on to him.'

'Yep. Dr Hudson is mind-blowing when it comes to his surgeon skills, but socially? Not the brightest bulb in the box.' Kurt added, chuckling slightly as he picked at his salad.

'I just don't get why you'd _do _something like that. I mean, I've seen some hot nurses and surgeons already- have you _seen _that blonde pediatrician? But it's way too inappropriate. There's no point in even trying.' Sam shook his head disdainfully, and Quinn's heart thudded painfully in her chest as she tried to look inconspicuous. Luckily, she was saved from commenting by the arrival of Rachel, who plonked herself down into her seat with a frown and pout.

'This sucks.' She told them grouchily, not touching the fruit on her plate and instead diving into her chocolate dessert.

'What does?'

'Being an intern! What's the point? I haven't seen an OR yet, let alone been in one!'

'It _has _been only four hours...' Quinn pointed out.

'Yeah but- I dunno, I just thought it'd be more...exciting. Not following all the residents and attendings around. I need some _drama-'_

_You should see inside my head, then. _Quinn thought bitterly to herself as Kurt snorted.

'This is a hospital Rachel, not a cop show-'

'Who've you had so far?' Quinn interrupted, sparing the brunette.

'Just Dr Hudson and Dr Anderson. Where's Santana?' Rachel asked, before the devil herself appeared right by her shoulder and sat down.

'I'm here hobbit. No fear.' She smirked, and Sam rolled his eyes.

'Y'know, you can laugh all you want about my height, but it actually gives me an advantage in surgeries. I'm closer to the table, and I'm sure Chief Schuester will come to appreciate that sometime.' Rachel assured her, looking confident.

'Your height _also_ means that you'll have to use a stool just to get equipment from the supply closets, so it's really 50/50.' Santana replied smoothly, and Quinn had to give her props for her quick wit.

As Rachel sat back in her seat, giving up, Sam suddenly sat forward. 'So Santana, flirted with anymore residents since Hudson?'

'Jealous Trouty Mouth?'

'As fun as this is, I better be going.' Rachel murmured, 'I have to be on Finn's service in 10.' She smiled slightly, looking more upbeat as she bounded off, Kurt and Sam following suit shortly after.

Santana watched Rachel go. 'Looks like I'm not the only one with a thing for doctors.' She smirked, and Quinn made a little tittering sound with her tongue. The Latina wasn't _so _bad, she was just...sharp. Quinn wasn't about to get on the wrong side of her- it wasn't really worth it. She wasn't in high school anymore.

'Speaking of which..' She continued, sitting up and surveying Quinn, who raised her eyebrows. 'You and Dr Puckerman seemed to be hitting it off earlier.'

Quinn felt her skin heat up, obviously reddening as Santana's smirk grew wider. Her palms began to sweat, and she cleared her throat. 'Why would you say that? When did you-'

'When Jones was telling me off- you really think I was paying any attention to that? As soon as I came in the pair of you jumped apart. He could barely keep his eyes off you, even when he was supposed to be attending to me.'

Quinn remained silent, before taking a breath. 'You're crazy.' She assured Santana, sitting forward. The Latina looked unfazed.

'Uh-huh. Whatever. I have to go anyway, good luck with your beau.' She began to walk off, abandoning her lunch tray as Quinn narrowed her eyes at her back and called after her.

'Like I said, you're delusional!'

**XXX**

Santana waltzed into the Children's ward, wincing slightly at the rainbows and figures painted all over the sky blue walls. There were a few nurses around, all in pale pink scrubs and with their hair in high ponytails. She walked awkwardly past them all, staring around for Dr Pierce.

'Excuse me, is Dr Pierce around here anywhere?' She asked an Asian nurse nearby, glancing at the name-tag absentmindedly- Tina, apparently.

Tina smiled. 'Yeah, she's in room number 18, just down there.' She pointed in another direction, and Santana thanked her before hurrying up.

_Why am I always chasing down the doctors? _She thought to herself in contempt.

It didn't take her long to find it, and she was just about to burst in uninvited when she noticed the blonde surgeon, her back turned, talking to the small boy in the bed. Santana paused at the door, awkwardly standing there.

'So Adam, we're gonna take use this thermometer that looks like a lollipop and take your temperature, okay? And then Nurse Tina is going to take you to another room to get a bit of blood taken- it might sting, but mom will be holding your hand the entire time, right mom?'

The mom nodded, smiling down at her kid, who nodded in reassurance before spotting Santana and staring at her. Dr Pierce looked over her shoulder, before turning and looking puzzled.

She too was in pink scrubs, the stethoscope around her neck zebra print. Her long blonde hair was down and pin-straight, and her eyes were bright and blue as they stared at her expectantly.

'Yes?'

Santana paused- she swore she knew more than the doctors around here. 'Umm, Dr Jones sent me here-'

'Oh! You're Santana, sorry.' Dr Pierce burst out, smiling brightly before turning back to the mom and her son. 'Sorry about this, we just got a new batch of interns today.'

Santana tried to ignore the fact that she'd basically just acted like interns were stock in a supermarket and gave a grim smile to the mom. Dr Pierce moved over to her, smiling still.

'It's good to see you hear Santana. I'm Brittany, by the way. All the kids call me that here, so you might as well too.'

'Oh. Cool..'

'Okay, so let's get started. Okay Adam-' She spoke louder then, addressing the child who looked back at her. 'Santana here is going to take your temperature instead, okay? It'll only take a second.' Brittany then turned to Santana, who felt slightly nervous. It was just taking a temperature, but it was the most she'd done all day that didn't involve paperwork.

'Adam Samuels here was recently diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis , but successfully received a kidney transplant a couple of weeks ago. We're just keeping him in here to monitor him until we see fit to send him home.' She murmured to Santana, who nervously took the thermometer shaped as a lollipop from an encouragingly smiling Brittany.

Santana looked at the boy, before smiling brightly. 'Okay, open wide for the aeroplane! Neee-owww-'

'I'm 10, not 5.' Adam told her, chuckling slightly as she stopped doing aeroplane arm movements.

'..Right.'

**XXX**

'So, how do you like Peds so far?' Brittany asked excitedly as they both stood in the hall, waiting as Tina took some of Adam's blood. _Did that woman ever stop smiling? _

'I gotta say, we don't get a huge amount of interns choosing their specialty as Peds straight away, it usually takes a couple of months-'

'Wait what?' Santana stared at her, and she looked confused. 'Peds is not my specialty.'

Brittany's smile faltered. 'It isn't?'

'God no.' Santana laughed derisively, too _tired _and generally pissed off to notice Brittany's obvious disappointment. 'I'm a trauma surgeon, I just got kicked off Hudson's service. I'm a hardcore doctor, I don't use thermometers that look like bunnies...or sing lullabies...' She trailed off, folding her arms as Brittany's face grew sterner for the first time since she'd met her. The light in her eyes was gone in a flash.

'Well if that's how you feel, you don't need to be on my supposedly 'soft' service. Peds is nothing _but_ hardcore and if you can't accept that, fine. Go find somewhere else.' She snapped, and Santana was surprised someone so cheery could sound so harsh. The blonde stalked back into Adam's room, leaving Santana alone in the emptying hall.

**XXX**

Quinn gathered her stuff together, relieved to be back in her normal clothes and alone in the intern's locker room. It had been a long day, and she just wanted to get some _sleep. _

'Tough day?'

Quinn jumped for the second time in 24 hours, turning and glaring at Puck who was stood in the doorway, also in normal clothes- a plaid shirt and jeans.

'You have to stop jumping out on me like that.'

Puck chuckled, moving closer. 'You'll get used to it eventually. The tough days I mean, not me jumping out on you. Though that could always be arranged..'

'Okay, stop right there.' Quinn told him firmly, turning to him. 'Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but _this' _She gestured frantically between his and her bodies'_ '-_cannot happen. Last night...we were two completely different people. You were Puck, and I was Quinn. Now we're Dr Puckerman and Dr Fabray.'

'But we're still the same people.' Puck pointed out, moving even closer. She took a deep breath, not looking at his smouldering eyes. He was making it slightly harder to breathe.

She paused, shaking her head slightly. 'You're Dr Puckerman..'

'And you're Dr Fabray.'

'You're a resident-'

'And you're an intern. This game's fun.'

Quinn let out a chuckle despite herself. 'That's the thing. This is all a game for you, I can tell. I'm forbidden fruit, and you like the aspect of that. I've met guys like you before.' She whispered, and his face turned serious.

'I doubt that. But I can certainly say I've never met anyone quite like you before.' He murmured, almost curiously.

There was silence as Puck watched her, his eyelids looking heavy as his eyes scanned her face. He was too close, and Quinn was struggling to find enough oxygen in the air. The warmth from his skin radiated off him, his lips looming closer to hers...

...until she took a deep breath and stepped away, shaking herself out of the reverie.

'Goodnight Dr Puckerman.' She told him breathily, before heading straight to the door and not looking back.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story so far. Please review! There wasn't many last chapter, so I'm a little worried. Thanks to those who did though, I love you all! xo<em>


	4. How To Save a Life

**Chapter 3: How To Save a Life**

_"As surgeons, there are so many things we have to know. We have to know we have what it takes. We have to know how to take care of our patients... and how to take care of each other. Eventually, we even have to figure out how to take care of ourselves." _~ Meredith Grey

* * *

><p>A week later, and Quinn had successfully managed to avoid Puck or any questions regarding him all 7 days- apart from the many times he had insisted on questioning her on various surgeries, when there had been plenty more interns in the room. Aside from that the week had been uneventful, and she was doing just as she desired- getting smoothly through the programme without any interruptions. Especially from her past..<p>

Her and Rachel walked alongside eachother as they followed Dr Hudson down the hall. The two had formed a somewhat friendship over the course of the week, seeing as they spent pretty much all of their time together. Santana was still remaining kind of distant, whereas Kurt was definitely in what Rachel liked to call the 'inner circle'. Sam kept to himself, mostly. Rachel was...quirky, and sometimes annoying, though she had ambition just like Quinn.

'Morning guys. Now, I know last week, as your first week must've been pretty dull, but we're getting into the good stuff now, promise.' Finn smiled reassuringly, and Rachel almost squealed next to Quinn in anticipation. It was just those two and a few other interns that they didn't really know on his service today, Santana being sent to and fro between different residents and Kurt being with Dr Anderson.

'Awesome. Do you think there'll be any cases where I can apply my cardiothoracic training, seeing as it's my specialty? I've done my research and I think-'

'That's great Dr Berry, but obviously seeing as Dr Fabray here has chosen Neurosurgery as her specialty, you'll be on cases that include both, or general surgery.' He paused, and gave a bright smile to Quinn, who timidly responded with her own. He looked pleased and continued walking.

_Well that was odd. _She thought to herself, before brushing it aside as the three of them went into the patients room.

**XXX**

'Have you seen Kurt around lately?' Rachel questioned Quinn later on that week, in one of the early rounds at the hospital. Quinn yawned, shaking her head.

'No. Dr Anderson must keep him pretty busy..I wish we were that fortunate.' She murmured, disgruntled while the pair sipped at their coffee.

'Uh-huh..' Rachel looked down at the floor, obviously waiting for Quinn to ask:

'Wait, do you know something about Kurt and him?'

'Well since you asked,' Rachel burst out, positively giddy as Quinn smirked at her. 'I caught Kurt full on staring at Dr Anderson the other day. For like 5 minutes.'

'Wow, eye contact. Juicy gossip, Rach.' Quinn told her sarcastically, laughing when Rachel's face fell.

'Well do _you _have anythi- Dr Hudson, hi!' Rachel's eyes suddenly widened, and she immediately smoothed down her hair. Quinn looked over her shoulder, where Finn was already in his scrubs, looking fresh-faced as if it wasn't 7am in the morning.

'Morning girls. Okay, I know it's early but we have a big surgery today- how do you feel about watching Dr Puckerman and Dr Anderson try and take out a tumour wrapped around a man's spinal cord?' Finn could barely keep the superiority out of his voice, and Rachel gasped next to her, shaking Quinn's arm.

'That sounds...amazing.' Quinn told him sincerely, and he grinned.

'I know- okay, you need to scrub in in five minutes and meet...'

Quinn was suddenly alerted by a vibrating in her pocket as Rachel and Finn began to walk away, and she stayed where she was, biting her lip before she read the text message. _Not now not now..._

_From: Angela_

_Your mother's having _

_Problems again. Do you _

_Think you could come _

_Over?_

Quinn almost groaned in frustration, feeling her hand clench the phone as she sighed and quickly typed a reply. She began to hurry after Finn, who was leading an excited Rachel to the OR.

'F- Dr Hudson!'

He turned, surprised. 'Yes?'

'Listen, I- I know this is short notice and I shouldn't be doing this, but-' He frowned as she remained flustered, caught off guard by the damn text. 'Do you think I could take an hour or so off? There's been a...family emergency.' She finished lamely, and Rachel watched her, concerned.

'Well...if you're sure, of course. I'll page the receptionist to sign you out.' Finn nodded, looking equally surprised.

'Thank you so much.' She muttered, relieved, before taking off her lab coat. 'I'll be back as soon as I can. See ya Rach.'

'Bye-'

'Take as much time as you need, Quinn!' Finn called after her.

He watched her go, her blonde her fanning behind her as she hurried away. He was shaken out of his reverie by Rachel, who was staring up at him with eager brown eyes.

'Dr Hudson? Did you hear what I said?' She asked uncertainly, looking perplexed. He cleared his throat.

'It's Finn, remember.' He automatically corrected, before grabbing a clipboard and noticing that Mercedes was smirking at them, raising her eyebrows at him. He gave her a puzzled glance before handing the clipboard to Rachel.

'Okay, can you take this to Dr Anderson? He should be in the OR, the surgery starts in a half hour so I'll meet you and the other doctors there. I have a few errands to run.'

'Sure.' She murmured, before hurrying off. He gave a small smile after her; he always liked enthusiastic interns. They were so refreshing from the really intense ones. Or the...too friendly ones like the Lopez girl.

He turned to Mercedes, who was still smirking at him. He rolled his eyes- unbeknownst to newbies in the hospital, Dr Jones was pretty awesome once you earned her respect (a hard task in itself). Sure she had a temper, but she was a kick-ass general attending surgeon.

'What?' He demanded, flicking through the charts on the desk as she moved towards him, scribbling stuff down on a clipboard.

'Nothing..'

'Well it's obviously something, you're doing that thing.'

She raised an eyebrow at that. 'What thing?'

'That thing with your face!' He pointed accusingly at her. 'Where you look like you know something about me! It's freaking me out, what do you think you know?'

She sighed, putting down the clipboard and raising her eyebrows at him. 'You like Dr Fabray.'

His mouth went dry, but he collected himself immediately. 'Don't be stupid-'

'I've seen the way you've been looking at her ever since she got here.'

'Wha- She's an _intern.' _He murmured, furrowing his brows as he fiddled with the pen in his hand. 'She's a good student, that's all- good listener and stuff-'

'Oh please-' Mercedes rolled her eyes. 'That is _the _oldest excuse in the book. But while you bring up the subject of her being an intern, I might aswell remind you-' Her voice grew serious then, and she immediately became the doctor the interns feared, making him shrink back a little. '-you are _not _to go getting involved with the interns, do you hear me Hudson?'

Her glare was suddenly so ferocious that Finn winced, swallowing as he nodded weakly. 'Loud and clear.'

**XXX**

'Rough week, huh?'

Santana's head snapped up, shaken from her reverie by the nurse that had told her where Brittany had been the week before- Tina? She stood there with sympathetic eyes as Santana filled in some paperwork. She opened her mouth to snap at the girl, before closing it again and sighing. Being a bitch to people had gotten her no-where in this hospital. She was just about to sign the form for being off Bri- Dr Pierce's service anyway.

'You could say that.' She murmured, and Tina nodded, not pushing the matter further.

'But just so you know-' Tina seemed hesitant, obviously having heard about Santana around the hospital. She wasn't sure whether to feel ashamed or not. '-Peds _is _a really great place to work. Dr Pierce is- in my opinion- probably one of the nicest doctors we've got at this hospital.'

'Yeah well _nice _isn't really my thing.' She told her firmly. _As you can see, _she finished in her head.

Tina was about to say something else, when there was suddenly a commotion a few doors down.

'I need some help in here! Please! My son-'

Santana turned in shock, just in time to see the mom she'd met on her first visit to Peds- the one for the boy with the kidney transplant- calling out into the hall, her yelling panicked as her face remained pale white. Her shouting was followed by the eerily familiar sound; the piercing beep on the machine of a failing heart.

'Crap-' Santana murmured to herself, before sprinting flat out to the boys room, where Adam's eyes were shut, almost as if he was sleeping. She rushed over to him, moving the mom out the way as Tina and other nurses flooded into the room.

'He was complaining about feeling really tired, so he was gonna get some sleep and then he was telling me about pains he had in his stomach- I was about to get a doctor and- and then-' The mom clutched a shaking hand over her mouth, and Santana glanced desperately at the nurses, who were staring at her and the machines.

'Where the hell is Dr Pierce?' She demanded, and a redhead nurse shrugged helplessly.

'She said she had to go speak to Chief Schuester about some sort of-'

'Santana you need to-'

'Can you please help my baby-'

'I'm a freaking intern I'm not supposed-' Santana shouted out, staring desperately between Adam, his mom and the nurses before going into autopilot. 'Screw it- he's coding, hand me those paddles-'

Quickly adjusting him into position and trying to take steady breaths, Santana yelled instructions to the nurses while telling the mom to stand back as she cried.

'Charge 200! Clear-' When nothing happened, she cursed under her breath. 'Same again.'

Still nothing. Santana's heart thudded painfully in her chest, and she stared wildly around the room. 'For god's sake, someone page Dr Pierce!'

'We did-'

'Well page her again! Charge 300-' Santana stared down at the boy, taking a deep breath when still nothing happened. 'Hold on, Adam.'

XXX

Quinn rushed through the doors to the care home, scanning the bright room for Angela. She wasn't hard to spot, the nurse coming towards her immediately with a sympathetic smile on her face.

'Hi Quinn- sorry to call you out of work, she's just- she's having trouble remembering-'

'Where is she?' She demanded, and the nurse pointed through a door at the other end of the room. Quinn thanked her quietly before going towards it, out of breath and panting as she turned the corner.

Terri Fabray was still recognisable to most that had known her in her younger days, but she sure had changed. Her formerly curly blonde hair was now greying and limp against her thin face, her eyes less bright and her form frail and skinny. She gave no sign of recognising Quinn- then again, she'd be more worried if she _had _recognised her.

'Hi mom.' Quinn murmured weakly, going to gently sit beside her on the set of sofas. 'You feeling okay?'

Terri paused, searching Quinn's face anxiously. 'Who are you?'

She bit her lip, taking a deep breath. Doing this never got easier- she never would get used to it. 'It's me, Quinn, remember?' _Your daughter._

'No, no- my daughter lives in Colorado with her husband Ben. You're not her.' She shook her head adamantly.

'That's Cassie, mom. She's your _eldest _daughter. It's Quinn, here with you.' _I take care of you all the time._

'O-kay..' Terri trailed off, looking like she didn't believe Quinn one bit.

'Do you remember where you are, mom?'

There was a pause, before; 'Where's Russell, Cassie? Where's my husband?'

'Quinn, mom.' She corrected quietly, feeling the urge to just run away. Let the nurses take care of it. She couldn't do this now. She had a job. And yet she stayed, just like she always did, and took her mom's hand. 'And he's...he left, mom. He left us both. It's just us, now.'

_Just us. _

XXX

'Adam temporarily rejected the kidney, meaning that his body was unable to cope with liquids. This meant that his other organs began to shut down, but luckily he's recovered and beginning to accept the kidney. We're gonna keep him closely monitored for the time being, just to make sure.'

'Thank you so much...'

Santana turned her back immediately as Brittany finished assuring Adam's mom that he'd be okay, pretending that she hadn't been listening to the entire conversation. She'd managed to restart the boy's heart just as Brittany had arrived in the room, and he had recovered almost as soon as the complications had hit in the first place.

She could feel the blonde watching her, before she walked over to stand beside Santana, who looked at her sheepishly.

'So he's okay now?'

Brittany nodded. 'Thanks to you, anyway.'

Santana couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she just nodded again.

There was a pause, and Brittany sighed. 'Y'know...I get that you think Peds is for amateurs, and that there isn't really a lot to learn from it-'

'I didn't-'

'-but at the end of the day-' Brittany continued, turning to look at Santana, her blue eyes wide and surprisingly gentle. '-it's saving lives. I mean, that's what we're here for, that's what we do. Whether it's...a severe burns victim in Trauma, or a little girl with cancer...we get the chance to save their life.' She let that hang there for a bit, and Santana just stared at her, unable to tear her eyes away. When she put it like that...

'And in Peds it's so much better.' She added brightly, absentmindedly tracing her finger along the binder in her arms. 'Because the kids your saving have a life ahead of them, all because you helped them live. It's pretty hardcore, and you're good at it. You proved that to me today.' She told her genuinely, and Santana nodded while clearing her throat.

'Thanks...it wasn't- I mean, it felt good to, you know..'

'I know. So you can stay on my service, if you wanted to. Or you could go try another area of the hospital.' The blonde turned so she was facing her. 'It's your choice. Take it or leave it.'

Santana considered that, a hesitant smile coming onto her face. Damn, the blonde's cheeriness was infectious. She was easy to talk to, Brittany...it was comfortable.

'I'll take it.'

**XXX**

'More suction, please.'

Kurt eagerly took the tools from the nurse next to him, carefully doing as Dr Anderson said. He was positively _giddy _being in an OR, finally..and more importantly, he'd been chosen over all the other interns to help.

'So Kurt, how are you finding your first weeks?' The Dr questioned, not turning to look at him but giving him all indication that he was listening, his thick dark eyebrows raised inquistively.

He was momentarily caught off guard by how casually he'd used his name, but he shook the feeling off. 'It's...amazing. I mean, actually being here instead of medical school...I'm pinching myself to make sure it's real.' He cut off suddenly, biting his lip. He sounded like some naive enthusiast.

Dear god, he sounded like _Rachel Berry._

To his surprise, Dr Anderson gave a low chuckle, nodding in understanding. 'I know what you mean. 3 years ago, I got here...and it was the best feeling I've ever had, just putting on my scrubs for the first time. Nothing like it.'

There was silence for a few minutes, before Kurt spoke hesitantly. 'Dr Anderson, why did you choose _me _for the surgery?'

He looked surprised, and hesitated before answering. 'As Residents, we can always...tell that some interns are destined to be great. Don't tell the other interns this- or anyone for that matter- but I could tell with you, straight away. Oh, and it's Blaine by the way.'

Kurt wasn't sure if it was the genuine answer or the grin Blaine shot him that had him almost swaying on the spot.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you so much to everyone that's reviewing! Keep it up =) Sorry for the lack of Quinn andor Q/P in this chapter, I'm trying to explore the others aswell. Next chapter there'll be more Quick and other exciting stuff- I'm looking forward to writing next chapter. Let's just say that there's a party involved...;) Review, let me know what you think!_


	5. Party People

**Chapter 4: Party People**

_**"**We are the people our parents warned us about." _~ Jimmy Buffett

* * *

><p>Rachel had never been the truly 'romantic' type in high school. She was driven, ambitious and in control of her future. She <em>had <em>had one boyfriend, whom she'd lost her virginity to- but that was another story.

Looking at _Dr Finn Hudson _though, she could just tell he was the romantic type. With his tousled brown hair...the brown eyes that were always so cheery...so tall too...

'Rachel? Did you hear anything I just said?'

'Hmm?' She jumped, the elbow she was leaning on slipping on the counter and shaking her out of her reverie as Quinn watched her, puzzled. 'No, sorry, I must've been...daydreaming..'

Quinn glanced where Rachel had been watching, looking back at the brunette in confusion before understanding. If she was thinking of anything relating to Finn, she didn't voice it. Rachel was thankful for that. 'Oh. Well anyway I was just thanking you for covering for me with Dr Jones last week-'

'Umm, I didn't cover for you- I mean, I totally would have-' Rachel added quickly, before glancing to her right, where Finn was going over charts. '-but Dr Hudson seemed to have already told her..'

Quinn raised her eyebrows, glancing at Finn sheepishly before turning away again. 'Oh okay..'

'So your sister's dog's okay then?'

Quinn paused, completely caught off guard before nodding brightly. 'Oh yeah, it was just a false alarm.'

As Rachel nodded and stirred at her coffee a bit, Quinn looked away guiltily.

It wasn't that she didn't _trust _Rachel- she'd managed to form a bond with the petite brunette, surprisingly- but she just...her mom's disease was private, unspoken of apart from between her and the nurses at the care home. She didn't want to be pitied, or given special treatment just because her father was an asshole that had completely _deserted-_

'Anyone else here glad we have no shifts tomorrow?' Finn suddenly came to stand beside them, looking exhausted and relieved. 'It comes once in a fortnight- cherish it, trust me. When you're residents you'll understand...'

Quinn smiled politely, and Rachel nodded enthusiastically next to her, obviously racking her brain of things to say, the way her eyes were darting around wildly. She nudged her slightly as Finn continued, oblivious as usual.

'You know what I haven't done in a while? Just gone out and had a _good time _at like a bar, or club, or something. Crap I sound like an old man, wanting to do the whole partying thing again...' Finn laughed to himself, just as Quinn caught sight of something- or rather some_one _watching her from across the room.

Every time _Puck _caught her eye, she couldn't get rid of the sudden rapid beating of her heart, the way she was filled with some sort of adrenaline rush as he stared at her. It was those damn eyes of his. It was like the saw straight through her...try as she might, she _had _tried to avoid him since the locker-room incident. It was hard, though. He seemed to be everywhere, all the time.

He gave a slight smile, less smug than his usual ones, before she forced herself to look back at Rachel, whose eyes had suddenly widened.

'You know it's funny that you mentioned parties, because me and Quinn here were planning on having one tomorrow night!' Rachel told Finn, wrapping an arm casually round Quinn's shoulder. She stared at her, caught off guard.

'We were?'

'Yes-' Rachel kicked her lightly in the shins, causing Quinn to wince and smile brightly at Finn, who was raising his eyebrows at the pair.

'Yeah we were..'

'Okay, cool. Give me a call with your address sometime.' Finn winked at them, and Quinn had to support the almost-passing out Rachel, who squealed.

'I will, don't worry!' She turned to Quinn as he walked away. 'Oh my god-'

'Are you crazy? You can't invite him he's a _resident-'_

Rachel pulled a face. 'So? He's like 2 years older than me- what happens out of work, _stays _out of work, am I right?' She giggled, linking arms with Quinn as they walked away. Quinn caught sight of Puck, who was looking curiously between the pair and Finn as he waltzed up to the latter, turning a corner out of Quinn's sight.

'You'd like to think, wouldn't you.' She murmured under her breath in response.

**XXX**

**'**Hey Hudson.' Puck called out, picking up his pace to catch the lanky doctor up. Finn turned, grinning before continuing in his pursuit. The guy was Puck's best bro in the hospital, having met at Medical School and going on to becoming residents in the same year.

'Hey, what's up?'

Puck glanced back at where Quinn and Berry had been standing, before getting straight to the point. 'Did you make plans with Qu- those two intern chicks?'

Finn's eyes widened slightly, and he cleared his throat. 'Mayb- I mean no, why would you-'

'You're a terrible liar man.' Puck rolled his eyes, even more curious. 'So what is it? A triple date or something..?' He gave short snigger, meaning it to come out as a joke yet feeling a small weight of almost _jealousy _in the pit of his stomach. And Puckzilla didn't get jealous.

Now it was Finn's turn to roll his eyes. 'Nah dude, it's just a party they're having.' He stopped then, turning to him. 'I was gonna ask you and a couple of the other residents if you'd go aswell, just so I'm not the only resident...' He trailed off, looking guilty.

Puck paused, processing the information. The interns...having a party...booze and lots of people looking for a good time...it was only natural that he felt a little protective towards Quinn, right? Despite her determination and pride, he could tell she was just a bit fragile under her guard. She was an intern...he just wanted to be there, and make sure she didn't get any trouble...he was being completely platonic...

He pretended to think about it, before shrugging. 'Yeah sure, why not?'

**XXX**

'How the _hell _did you drag me into this..'

'Relax, we're not in high-school, we're not gonna throw any vases or break the windows.' Rachel assured her, staring around Quinn's bedroom as the latter applied lipgloss for the umpteenth time. Rachel had opted for a low cut red blouse and navy high-waisted skirt and heels, her hair curled as she remained giddy. 'Speaking of which, you didn't tell me you lived in a _huge _house..'

'Yeah, my grandmother left it to my mom..' Quinn murmured, and Rachel turned to her with sad eyes.

'Oh. I'm sorry, is she...?' She asked carefully, and Quinn winced and shook her head.

'No, she just lives...elsewhere.'

'Oh okay. Well we couldn't have it at my apartment, it's tiny and how would that look to the doctors-'

'Speaking of which, how many people are actually coming tonight?' Quinn questioned, finally ready as she turned away from the mirror. Rachel had convinced her to go for a purple mini-dress that really wasn't her, so she was feeling too self conscious in it now. She'd left her hair down and wavy for good measure, her eyes made up for 'instant sex appeal' as Rachel had put it. Not that she was looking to _do _anything like that.

Rachel raised her eyebrows, glancing out the window as a car pulled up. 'Umm, I think a few...'

**XXX**

An hour later, it turned out a _few _was a _lot. _

And the worst part? It wasn't just interns and a few other friends there...somehow not only Finn but Blaine and mother-pucking _Puck _had heard about the party, turning up together and looking around the large place in surprise. She had to admit- though she wasn't sure if it was just the tequila she'd had (she'd always been a lightweight)- but they were _good looking _doctors.

Puck was just in a black button up shirt and dark jeans, but Quinn couldn't help but remember- in detail- how toned he was beneath it. The sleeves hugged his muscles pretty damn well-

'You know it's a shame Blaine is as gay as I am hammered.' A very drunk Santana had sidled up to her, booze on her breath as she laughed loudly. 'He looks _hot _in that red sweater. Maybe I should tell Kurt...'

'_Please _don't give the guy any ideas.' Quinn shouted over the music, and they both glanced at Kurt in the corner, who was letting one of the other girls do a body shot off of him, his hair tousled and on end as he continued to shriek Celine Dion lyrics. She was surprised how quick the party had gotten wild. She couldn't even be bothered to stop it, by this point.

Santana disappeared again to stick her tongue down another intern's throat, and was immediately replaced by Finn, beer in hand. He looked good too, in his blue sweater, jeans and sneakers.

'It's a nice place you got here.' He told her, and it was nice to see that at least _he _wasn't completely drunk. 'Great party, too! We shouldn't really be here..' He added guiltily 'But...you know, what the attendings don't know won't hurt 'em.'

She gave a small chuckle, trying to ignore the way he was staring at her. 'Thanks.'

Finn began to talk about something else, but Quinn wasn't listening- she'd just caught sight of Puck, watching her from across the room. What was it with him? She'd made it pretty clear that she couldn't go out with him, despite him insisting on it whenever they happened to be alone together. She was momentarily breathless, finding it almost smothering the way his eyes were watching her intensely, sometimes flicking to Finn with curiosity. Part of her wanted to go up to him, just accept his offer...or maybe hit him in annoyance. But no, she had her pride...she wouldn't let go of that for a guy that was obviously playing games..

There was a slight pause, as if Finn was deliberating on whether to say something, before-

'So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to-'

'Oh god-' Quinn cut him off, suddenly seeing Rachel in the corner, halfway to talking her top off. 'Hold this-' She murmured, thrusting her drink into Finn's hand as he looked at Rachel, baffled.

'As doctors, let us examine the female bod-' Rachel yelled over the music, just as Quinn grabbed her arm, yanking the top down. 'Whaaat are you doing...'

'No stripping for you Rach, let's get you some water..'

**XXX**

Once Quinn had left the now water-drinking Rachel with one of the other reliable interns (after forcing off this creep Jacob Ben Israel that was trying to persuade her to leave Rachel with him- Santana had promptly kicked him out), she hurried out of the kitchen, scanning the downstairs to make sure that nothing was smashed or being used as a football. She was all for having a good time, but Puck and the other residents being there had her on edge. Not that she wanted to impress him, or anything. She grabbed a drink, making her way upstairs to see if she could find Kurt or at least someone sane.

Looking in the bathroom, she was glad to see that there was nobody making babies in there. She left the door ajar, standing in the darkness for a moment and taking a deep breath. She relished in the slight quiet, despite the cheering and music from downstairs.

The door abruptly opened, and she turned in shock, gasping slightly.

'Whoa, sorry, didn't know anyone was in here.' The voice said, and she vaguely recognised it as one of the other interns. 'Hey it's the Party hostess!' He said brightly, and Quinn abruptly remembered who he was.

'Hi Tim.' She said awkwardly, disliking the way he was making no move to leave. He was standing at least 4ft away and she could still smell the booze on his breath. 'Do you think you could turn the light on, it's a tad dark..'

'Can't find it.' He told her lamely, and she rolled her eyes, watching his silhouetted figure move a bit closer.

'It's right over here-' She began, meaning to move past him in order to get out of the room. He caught her elbows though, raising his eyebrows.

'Whoa whoa, where're you going Quinnie?' He asked lightly, sounding mock-offended.

'Out of here.'

'What's the point in that? You obviously weren't having fun out there, otherwise you wouldn't have come in here. We should take advantage of this time alone..' He added suggestively, moving even closer. She stepped back, trying to get around him as she snorted derisively.

'You've gotta be kidding me..'

'Don't be such a buzz kill Q.' He chuckled lightly, suddenly pulling him towards her as she attempted to push him away. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist, leaning his face closer as she tried to shrug him off.

'Get the _hell _off me you-' She snapped, trying and failing to push him off as her heart thudded in her chest. _This wasn't happening.._

'Relax-'

'Back off Tim-'

The following chain of events happened all at once; the bathroom was suddenly bathed in light by the hallway, followed by a tall figure storming in, and Tim being thrown off of her as she gasped.

'Why don't you listen to her douchebag?' A voice shouted angrily, and she stumbled slightly out of shock, reaching for the light switch as an arm wrapped around her waist to steady her. She turned it on, staring wide-eyed at Puck, who had appeared out of no-where.

'What the hell?' Tim was on the floor, obviously having been shoved aside and way more drunk than Quinn had previously assumed. She glanced at Puck, whose face was livid as he kept his grip on her, his other arm raised threateningly at Tim.

'I suggest you get out of here while you still have your consciousness- and your internship-' Puck snapped shoving Tim out of the bathroom as the latter grumbled. He slammed the door, turning slowly to Quinn as she remained against the wall, frozen in shock. She bit her lip, feeling vulnerable as he surveyed her with genuinely worried eyes.

'You okay?'

She nodded, clearing her throat. 'Yeah, I guess. Thanks for...you know.'

He nodded, digging his hands in his pockets and looking down while moving closer to her. For once, she didn't move away. She wasn't about to pass up spending time with _this _version of Puck. He was being...almost _sweet. _

'Wait, how did you know I was in here?'

Puck glanced around the room sheepishly, a small embarrassed smile creeping onto his face. 'I, erm- I kinda asked around if anyone had seen you, and this Sam guy said he saw you go in here.' Quinn smiled despite herself. 'I waited for you to come out but I got worried when you never...' He trailed off, his face darkening drastically as his jaw clenched. 'I swear if I see that guy again...'

'Don't- do anything.' She burst out, suddenly worried, and was about to reach out, before she realised what she was doing and retracted her hand. He noticed though, beating her to it as he grabbed her hand and gently held it between his. She couldn't help but jump slightly, his warm touch sending electricity through her veins.

Puck frowned in concentration at her hands, his jaw set. 'I won't. But I want to.' He added, looking up at her firmly as she realised how close they were. Close enough for her to smell his cologne, sending her mind back to the nigh they'd first met;

_Quinn broke away from the kiss, panting slightly as Puck began to press kisses to her neck instead, her dress slipping below her shoulders slightly._

'_We shouldn't be doing this..' She murmured, biting her lip to stop her from moaning as he pressed her against the wall, his hands roaming her body hungrily. _

'_Fine, should I stop?' He asked teasingly, retracting his hands from her waist and leaning away, his eyes dark and longing. She groaned and grabbed his face, yanking his eager lips to hers before he nibbled on her ear lobe, moaning into her skin. _

'_Don't be stupid.'_

'Why do you care so much?' She asked gently, watching him as he moved even closer, his face barely inches away from hers. She braced her hands on his arms, caught up in the moment as he stared at her, an ever so slightly frustrated look on his face as he scrambled for words. The air between them was charged, their breathing in sync with eachother while the room suddenly felt 10 times hotter. He opened his mouth, about to say something before he moved backwards away from her.

'I don't know.' He finished lamely, and she nodded, disappointment seeping through her. She'd been naive enough to believe he was being genuine. Again.

'Thank you.' She whispered, pushing past him and out of the bathroom. She felt him move as if to stop her, but she ignored it and stormed downstairs, knowing what she had to do.

She spotted Kurt talking to Blaine in the corner, somehow even more drunk than before. Rachel was no-where to be seen, so she headed for Santana, who was lazily lying on the kitchen counter with a bottle in her hand as she giggled to herself.

'Hey Barbie.' She drawled out, before raising her eyebrows at the blonde while she stood there, face set with her hands on her hips.

'I need to get drunk. Like, really drunk.'

Santana nodded seriously, before smirking and sitting up on the counter, wobbling on one heel (the other shoe, Quinn recognised was in one of the other bedrooms) as she leapt down. 'You've come to the right person blondie.' She poured two small glasses of what should've been a shot, before handing one to Quinn, who took it greedily. She just wanted to forget Puck, her mom, Tim and everything else for _one night. _

**XXX**

It turned out, an hour later that Quinn wasn't the 'lack of memory' kind of drunk. After god-knows how many drinks, a lot of hook-ups between the other interns, a couple broken lamps and a cat-fight between Santana and another drunken girl, the remaining party-goers were beginning to file out, Quinn simply sitting on the stairs exhausted while she watched them all. She vaguely remembered Blaine and Puck disappearing a while ago. With that thought in mind, she downed the remainder of her drink and snorted at Santana, who had been her somewhat 'companion' throughout the night, leaning against the door and snoring while still standing up. She knew Kurt was in one of the bedrooms upstairs too, and Rachel was passed out on the counter, looking peaceful with her arms hugging a wine bottle to her chest.

'Dr Hudson!' Quinn suddenly murmured brightly, reaching her arms out in a gesture to Finn, who was randomly picking up the litter all over her formerly neat floors and putting it in garbage bags. He, at least, was relatively sober. 'You don't have to do that.' She told him, tottering towards him. He gave a wry smile, putting down the bag and steadying her as she fell against him.

'No it's okay. It was a kick-ass party, you might aswell rest. Looks like you need it, too.' He chuckled, almost holding her up as she swayed slightly, dizzy. It'd been a while since she'd been _this _drunk. 'Maybe we should put you to bed.' He told her uncertainly, 'Puck told me to make sure you were okay.'

She suddenly pulled away from him, frowning as something other than booze lurched in her stomach. 'Puck? Why the hell was _he _telling you that?'

Finn shrugged, gently lifting her off her feet and making his way upstairs as she lazily wrung her arms around his neck. 'He just said-'

'Well he shouldn't be saying anything.' She interrupted, slurring angrily. 'He's a dick.'

He laughed at that, shaking his head slightly as he opened the door to her bedroom. 'Nah he's not too bad. Granted he's a bit of a bad-ass, but he's pretty sensible most of the time.' He gently put her on her bed, tucking her like a child into the covers as she immediately snuggled into her pillow.

'Really? Is that why...' She suddenly cut off, biting her lip as Finn watched her curiously. Even drunk, she realised that telling Finn about...well, whatever her and Puck were was probably not a good idea.

'Is that why what?'

'Never mind. Thank you for taking care of me, Finn.' She murmured sleepily, smiling to herself as his face remained distorted in her dizzy sight.

'That's alright.' He told her softly, before frowning and pausing. 'Y'know, I was- I mean I was thinking- I was gonna ask you out, earlier. I mean, if you wanted to.' He murmured, looking down at her as she felt her face fall, realisation settling in her chest as he leant slowly towards her, his face looming warmly above hers.

The strange looks he'd been giving her lately made sense now.

His lips felt...good against hers, surprisingly gentle as her hand cupped his cheek. The kiss was almost comforting, and she suddenly felt like crying. It ended almost as soon as it began, Finn pulling away and grinning sheepishly.

As he waited patiently, part of her wanted to say yes. He was adorable, good-looking, a fantastic doctor- and he freaking _cared _for her. A true gentlemen, someone she'd be proud to have on her arm. She'd show Puck that he didn't need to keep watching her, and pretending he cared when it was obviously just a game to him...

But no, that was unfair to Finn. Quinn didn't want to use him, he was too good for that.

He deserved someone that only wanted him. Not someone that for some god-forsaken reason, wanted someone else aswell.

'I'm sorry, Finn. I can't. It's not...this is gonna sound totally lame, but it's not you, it's me. I'm just...i'm not...' She struggled for words, her brain unfogging slightly as he nodded sadly, giving a small smile in defeat.

'No I understand. It's cool. I just...yeah.' He nodded, slowly getting up before placing a bucket he'd obviously brought up gently next to the bed. 'Just in case.' He added, nodding to the bucket as she watched him sadly.

'You're a good guy, Finn.' She murmured after him, and he smiled. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she voiced it before she could stop herself. 'You should talk to Rachel more. I'm pretty sure she really likes you.' She told him, and he raised his eyebrows, looking too shocked to speak.

'Okay..' He trailed off, pausing by the door as her eyelids fluttered shut. 'My shift isn't till evening tomorrow, so I'm gonna sleep on the sofa to check on you and the other guys still left. Wouldn't want anything happening to my favourite interns. Goodnight Q.' He chuckled softly, leaving the door ajar as he left.

'Night..' She whispered groggily after him, still feeling sad that _he _was disappointed.

Quinn sighed into the quiet, listening to his footsteps on the stairs as a wave of exhaustion went through her. Her head felt cloudy, even more so than her usual drunkenness. Images of Finn and mainly _Puck _were swirling around in her head, memories of Finn's kiss mingling with the intense ones of Puck's cologne surrounding her as he leaned into her, before he'd pulled away. She remembered the thrill she'd felt when he had saved her from Tim, and the kisses from their first night together.

Quinn was a doctor, now. She was used to the scares, the nerves and the anxiety that came with the job.

And yet the fact that she was falling for Noah Puckerman scared her more than anything in a hospital.

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><p><em>Thank you so so much for all the reviews! Seriously, there's nothing nicer than getting really positive feedback for a story. I'm glad you all enjoy it, so please keep reviewing to let me know what you think, or any suggestions you have! I know there's been a lack of Quick lately, so I hope this chapter was enough until the next. There's some good stuff coming up, I promise ;) <em>

_As for other couples, some people have been asking about them in reviews (ie Finchel). As I said at the beginning, the couples listed there are eventual, and while Quick is the main focus throughout the story the couples will be together eventually. Have faith, my lovely readers! As I said, keep reviewing! xo_

_On a side note, who is as excited as I am for _Born This Way _on Tuesday night? _


	6. Morning After Dark

**Chapter 5: Morning After Dark**

_"I wish there were a rulebook for intimacy. Some kind of guide to tell you when you've crossed the line." ~ _Meredith Grey

Note: Chapter contains slightly more **mature themes**.

(Then again, I'm guessing that's just made you want to keep reading.)

* * *

><p>Quinn padded softly down the stairs, carefully scanning the house for any major damage from the night before. Her headache had now become ear-splitting, and she groaned as her whole body throbbed. She kept remembering little parts of the party, almost mocking her as she realised that she had to <em>face <em>these people at work later that evening. Finn (who had been kind enough to tidy a lot of the house for her during his night there), Tim and most importantly, Puck.

She paused at the bottom of the stairs, hearing voices from the kitchen. She suddenly remembered Finn's statement from the night before.

'_I'm gonna sleep on the sofa to check on you and any of the other guys still left.'_

She bit her lip, quickly glancing at herself in the mirror. Her make-up was smudged, her wavy hair dishevelled, and she had a pink robe on over her dress. It'd have to do.

Luckily for her, pushing the kitchen door open she found it was just Kurt and Rachel, who were absent-mindedly drinking orange juice as they sat at the counter. Looking at them, and a sleeping Sam in the corner, she could tell that she wasn't the only one with a killer hangover.

'Hey.' Rachel murmured groggily, before gesturing to the drinks. 'Sorry, we thought you wouldn't mind if we just-'

'No it's cool.' She waved it off, going to sit beside them and moaning as Kurt silently handed her a glass of water. 'Thanks. What the hell-'

'Happened last night? I wish I knew. I can barely remember what brand I'm wearing.' Kurt shook his head dismally, looking terrified as he rested his chin on his hands. Rachel rubbed her temples, looking pale.

'I can't believe I _let _myself get that drunk...why didn't somebody stop me?' She whined, before her eyes widened slightly. 'Oh god. The residents- did I do anything majorly embarrassing? Have they fired me already? Did Dr Hu-' She gripped Quinn's arms as the blonde shushed her.

'I didn't see you that much, but when I did I stopped you from doing anything drastic...like stripping..' She muttered the last part under her breath, and Kurt snorted as Rachel groaned, resting her head on her arms on the counter.

'Why's Berry all whiney-' Santana walked in then, looking even worse than the rest of them as she slid onto the counter next to them all, grabbing Kurt's orange juice. '-Did she find out that she drunk dialled Chief Schuester?'

As Rachel's head shot up in horror, Santana laughed loudly, causing Quinn to groan and grab her head in pain. 'It was a joke, Berry, relax.' Santana's smile faltered slightly, and she glanced at the three of them in confusion. 'Damn, for people that were at a kick-ass party last night, you're acting pretty depressed.'

Kurt snorted then, and Santana nudged him and looked at him teasingly. 'Especially you Kurt, after you made out with one of the world's hottest gay doctors..'

The boy choked on his drink, spluttering before he looked at her wide-eyed. Santana looked confused when he laughed nervously, glancing at Rachel as Quinn raised her eyebrows in shock at him. 'Oh you're just joking with me, right? Like you did with Rachel-'

'What? No, you made out with Blaine- wait you don't remember?' Santana's sentence faltered, and she looked torn between amusement and guilt as Kurt gripped the counter, looking even paler if that was possible. 'Well it was more of you giving him a smooch on the lips but-'

'That did _not _happen, you're making that up-'

'You did, I saw it.' Sam, suddenly rising up from the other side of the room, told them dully, wandering towards them topless and sticking his head under the sink's tap for water. 'I'm not as lightweight as some of you-'He raised his eyebrows accusingly at the three girls '-so I was relatively aware when you kissed him. Quite funny actually..'

Kurt let out an inhumane noise, a cross between a groan and a shriek. 'Oh god I remember...shit...no no no no no...' He buried his head in his hands, and Quinn patted his arm sympathetically.

'It'll be okay Kurt, he probably doesn't even remember it...'

'Actually Blaine seemed pretty surprised at the time so I think he was quite sober..' Sam told them, and Quinn sent him a glare as Kurt moaned again.

'At least you didn't make out with that weird dude Simon Bleakers..' Santana snorted, and Quinn and Rachel exchanged glances.

'You mean _Simone?'_

'As in dude-tte?'

Santana frowned, giving a snort of laughter. 'You guys are on crack, Simon was a dude. A bit feminine but-'

'Well if you're talking about Simon/Simone Bleakers than that was definitely a girl.' Kurt interrupted drearily. 'At least the worse you did was kiss a girl in your drunken state, I kissed a _resident..._Blaine for that matter..'

'At least he's gay.' Rachel added in comfort, and Quinn nodded.

'Don't worry about it, we all have our demons from last night..' She trailed off, and Sam snorted.

'I'll say.' He added, smirking at Quinn for a while as she cocked her head, confused. He said nothing more and turned away, leaving her with an odd sense of dread.

**XXX**

'How mad do you think she is?'

'I don't know. But that vein in her temple is close to popping...good thing I'm a neurologist. She can't stay mad at me if I save her life.'

Finn snorted along with Puck, the two turning away from their whispered conversation as Mercedes abruptly came back into the room. They were both sat on chairs in front of her desk, prepared for their interrogation as the tension in the room became awkward. The small woman glared at them both, radiating power as Finn shrunk back slightly.

'So it appears _some _of us went to a little _party_. Last. Night.' She bit out, and Finn glanced at the expressionless Puck.

'How did you find out?' Finn asked tentatively, and Puck rolled his eyes and looked at him disbelievingly. Mercedes gave a small smirk, pleased she'd cracked one so fast.

'Lucky for me- though not so lucky for you- Dr Pepper was around when you and your colleague Dr Anderson were discussing the upcoming party.'

'Suzy? I've always hated that bitc-'

'Wait, where is Blaine anyway?' Finn questioned, glancing around as if the man was hidden somewhere.

'Dr Anderson has a later shift than you two today, but rest assured I'll be having a little talk with him as well. Now what the _hell _were you two thinking when you went to an _intern _party? What, did you think you'd promise them a little trip into the OR in return for a-'

'What? No! It was nothing like that, we just-'

'Listen, it's damn hard being a resident!' Puck chimed in, unafraid of Mercedes. 'You should know, you used to be one when you were younger-'

'Watch it Puckerman.'

'-and it was our fortnightly free day, we just wanted to relax a bit, have a couple of beers! Is that such a crime?'

Mercedes paused, sitting down in her seat as Finn gave the thumbs up to Puck when she wasn't looking. 'It's not a _crime, _but it certainly doesn't raise you higher in my good books. Nevertheless, relationships of any form other than colleagues is a rocky surface with interns, do you hear me doctors?'

Finn and Puck glanced at eachother, unaware they were both thinking of the same girl and what had happened last night. 'Yes ma'am.'

'And if in _any way _it affects surgeries or how you do your job-'

'It won't. Thank you Dr Jones.'

**XXX**

'You have to go in there eventually babe-'

'Technically I don't. Lots of other hospitals would be willing to-'

'Listen Hummel, I know I sprung the whole Dr Anderson kiss thing on you, but if you don't show up _now _your impression on him is going to get worse, okay?' Santana told him firmly, clapping the boy on the shoulder as him and Quinn attempted to get him through the doors of the Hospital entrance, despite his protests.

'But-'

'No buts. You're going in Hummel. You clear the ice with him and start a-new, you hear me? Though if he seems interested try and get with that fine piece of- oww!' Santana protested when Quinn slapped her on the shoulder.

'You'll be fine, Kurt.' Quinn told him comfortingly, before glancing at her beeping pager. 'Oh crap, I'm on Dr Jones' service today, I better go there quick. Good luck hun.' She told Kurt, before scarpering off and leaving Kurt and Santana. The boy took a deep breath, starting forward as his mind whirred.

'I'm never drinking alcohol again.' He stated, and Santana gave him a scolding glance.

'That's a terrible thing to say. You need alcohol in a job as freaking stressful as this.'

There was a pause after that, and Santana bit her lip, debating whether to ask him or not. She glanced at him- she might aswell. He was a gossip, yeah, but he was also trustworthy if you were actually his _friend. _And she liked to consider herself one of his.

'Hey Kurt-' He turned to her questioningly. 'Do you think that's all it was? I mean the kiss with Simone- do you think it was just the booze? I'm not-'

His face softened slightly. 'Well, no offence Santana but you seem to like the boys a lot, so I doubt you have anything to worry about. Hell, you were so far gone that you thought she was a _guy- _i'm sure it was just the alcohol thinking for you.' He told her, patting her on the shoulder as she nodded, trying to convince herself of the words.

'Yeah. That's all it is. Thanks, Kurt.'

'Anytime.' He shrugged, before walking off and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

**XXX**

'...So then all the humans are like, banished from Pandora. It's epic.'

'I just don't get the fuss-'

'Don't get the- it's _Avatar. _I still can't believe you haven't seen it! They have their own language and everything.' Sam finished, looking supremely proud of himself as he leant back in his chair and Rachel finished her yoghurt. She rolled her eyes, checking her watch.

'Damn, my break's nearly over- I'm meeting Quinn in like 2 minutes...'

Sam paused, watching her cautiously as she got up and prepared to leave. She caught him staring, and paused. 'What?'

Sam sighed, running his hand through his hair and wincing slightly. 'So you and Quinn are still like, best friends? You're okay after...'

'After what?' Rachel snapped, her brow furrowing as she moved closer to a now fidgeting Sam.

'No, I'm guessing she hasn't- you're better off asking Quinn about her and...'

'Her and who? Sam, what the hell are you-'

'Okay, okay!' He told her, throwing his hands up in defeat. 'Listen, last night, I passed out upstairs in one of the bedrooms, and I was thirsty so I went towards the bathroom to get a glass of water. I was just passing Quinn's bedroom and I heard voices- I was pretty drunk and the door was ajar, so I peeked in there just to see who it was.' He hesitated then, anxious by the look on Rachel's face. 'It was her and Finn.' Even more anxious now the girl had turned pale and wide-eyed. 'And he was leaning in, and they- they kissed. I left after that, and I'm sure- they're probably not dating or anything, but I just thought you should know since-'

He didn't have time to finish; Rachel had disappeared out the door and down the hall.

**XXX**

Quinn glanced up at the clock, glad she'd finished her charts before she was due to meet Rachel. Luckily, she'd managed to successfully avoid Finn throughout the day- she wasn't planning on making it an everyday thing, but she wanted to give him a bit of space. She couldn't get his disappointed face out of her mind, and she thought it'd be easier for him if they had at least a day away from eachother. The same applied for Puck...

Kurt passed her then, looking flustered as his eyes darted around the halls.

'Hey, did you find you-know-who?' Quinn asked him as he passed her, and he paused, standing beside her for a moment.

'No, not yet. Oh god, what if he's avoiding me? I knew this was a bad idea, I should've called in with some horribly contagious disease..'

'And let him think that you'd passed it on to him? You just need to face your fears and break the ice with him, Kurt.'

'You're right.' He took yet another deep breath, before glancing at her. 'Thanks Quinn.'

'Go get 'em tiger.' She called at him, giggling as he strode away. Her giggles were short-lived though, heavy footsteps emerging from behind her. She turned to find Rachel making a bee-line towards her.

'Hey Rach, I thought you weren't gonna...' She paused as she saw Rachel's face, reddening and livid as she panted, coming to a stop in front of Quinn. '...What's wrong, are you okay?'

'Just tell me the truth, Quinn. Did you kiss Finn last night?'

She felt her heart drop into her stomach, her mouth becoming dry as she gaped slightly. How did she...

Quinn sighed, lowering her voice as Rachel frowned. 'Listen, it wasn't a _proper _kiss-'

Rachel let out an angry sigh of disbelief, turning away abruptly and leaving Quinn to follow her across the main hall.

'Rach don't- it's not like it _meant _anything, he was the one that-'

'Oh spare me Quinn, a kiss always means something! Or was he giving you mouth-to-mouth?' She added scathingly, and Quinn narrowed her eyes, suddenly angry.

'If you would just hear me out-'She told her through gritted teeth. 'You would understand that it was a small drunken mistake between us, and that nothing like it's gonna happen again-' Rachel continued to scoff, folding her arms across her chest. '-And like you didn't do anything stupid last night!'

'Nothing as stupid as kissing my best friend's-' She came to a stop suddenly, and Quinn took advantage.

'My best friend's _what _exactly Rachel? It's not like he's your freaking _boyfriend-'_

'You KNEW I liked him though!' By this point the pair were yelling, the other doctors and nurses looking at them in curiosity as they had a shouting match in the middle of the room, their faces furious.

'That is beside the point-'

'You just couldn't keep your hands off someone that you were afraid you'd lose to someone less pretty, less blonde than you-'

'That's not true and you know it Rach, _you _just couldn't pluck up the damn courage to ask him something that didn't involve you giggling like a-'

Her sentence was suddenly cut off, the impact of Rachel's palm across the cheek burning her skin and sending adrenaline through her veins. There was a chorus of '_whoa_'s around the room as Quinn slowly turned back, her straight hair plastered to her cheek as Rachel fumed.

'But you still knew I liked him. I should've known, when we came here that you'd be just like the girls I knew in high school. You're all the same, seemingly perfect and innocent and yet just as promiscuous as the rest of-'

Quinn lunged forward, shoving Rachel hard as her temper reigned loosed. The small brunette shrieked in shock, but no-one made any move to stop them as they went colliding into the wall, pulling at each other's hair in an attempt to get one another off. Rachel's hand reached out to slap her again, but she kept her grip on the girl's wrist, until Quinn was swung backwards into the wall, her head slamming against the surface hard. Her vision temporarily blurred, her head throbbing even more than that morning before she lunged again.

Sometime over the next 30 seconds they were suddenly pulled apart, Quinn being lifted off her feet as she struggled to no avail, the strong arms in a vice grip over her waist as she watched Finn dragging a beside-herself Rachel away.

'She attacked me!' Rachel called out, also caught in Finn's arms as Quinn seethed, lunging forward before being held back again.

'Crazy bitch-' She murmured, hysterical before she felt the person behind her squeeze her hand as he held her back.

'Calm it Q.' He murmured into her ear, and Quinn realised with a shock (Though by now, she shouldn't have been- he seemed to appear everywhere) that it was Puck holding her in the air, his arms wrapped tight around her waist as she began to stop struggling.

'What the _hell _is going on with this hospital today?'

Dr Jones had suddenly burst into the room, the doors slamming shut behind her as everyone in the room began to fall quiet, only Rachel and Quinn's angry panting audible.

'If it isn't the damn residents it's the squabbling interns!' She shouted, glaring at the two of them. Quinn glanced at Rachel, the two exchanging betrayed expressions before looking at the angry attending again. 'You are _not _in 3rd grade, you are _doctors. _Now go get yourselves cleaned up, or so help me I _will _be telling the chief.' She told them, before storming away.

'Come on, let's get you somewhere quieter-' Puck told her, loosening his grip but still holding onto her arm. He placed a hand on her head, where Quinn could feel a bruise forming before she shrugged him off.

She moved quickly away from him, shooting one last sad look at Rachel as she remained in Finn's slack grip, already looking apologetic. She stormed off, feeling tears welling in her eyes but refusing to let them fall as she hurried down the halls until she found an empty equipment cupboard. It didn't take long for Puck to follow her, shutting the door behind him only moments later.

He walked towards her slowly, looking sad. He glanced at her head where she was holding a cloth to the wound (she'd somehow managed to bleed when she'd hit her head on the wall), and she handed it to him wordlessly. He held it there gently, looking intently at the cloth as he cleared his throat.

'So you kissed Finn huh?' He asked, his voice casual, but Quinn could hear the underlying hurt and even anger in it.

'He kissed me, actually.' She replied automatically, sniffing slightly. 'Something that Rachel doesn't seem to get..' She trailed off, already feeling ashamed at how far things had gotten. It was the way she'd accused her of being a _slut..._it'd hit a nerve, despite high school being years ago...

'Still...I don't get why you'd kiss him..' He added, his tone still light, and she looked up to see his jaw set, eyes frustrated. She leant away, staring up at him through narrow eyes.

'Why do you care?' She whispered to him 'And don't you dare say you don't know because I've heard that before and I'm not buying it.' She told him angrily, removing the cloth from his hands and tossing it in the bin.

'It just doesn't make sense-' Quinn could tell he was just as angry as he turned towards her, five feet away from her. '-I mean, you completely blow me off yet go around kissing other guys! _Residents _even though you told me it was wrong to date one!'

'Okay first of all, it was _one _guy and it didn't even _mean _anything. It was after the party and he was taking care of me-'

'Yeah cause I told him too!'

'Exactly, so why are you getting jealous?' She shouted, her voice hoarse as she pointed accusingly at him. His was momentarily shocked, staring at her as she grew more and more frustrated. What _was it _with people today? She was pretty sure nobody else would get grief for anything they did last night. '_You _do not deserve to get jealous, you are _not _my boyfriend!'

'Yeah but- I want- for fuck's sake, I'm sick of this!' Puck threw his hands up in the air angrily, and she remained still, caught off guard as he took a few calming breaths.

'Listen-'His voice grew softer, and he walked towards her. 'I'm no good at this speech thing. But I mean it when I say that I- I care about you. So much. I just- I can't stand the thought of...I mean you and Finn...ever since that night we met I...' He struggled for words, and Quinn moved forward, standing right in front of him as tears welled in her eyes. It was as if everything between them in the last month, all the looks and talks, depended on this.

'What? Ever since we met you _what, _Puck? Tell me. Why do you care about me so much, why do you watch me from across the room, why do you care if I kiss someone else?' She gripped his arms, suddenly wishing with all her heart he'd just say what it was and put her out of this misery.

'I- I feel...I-' Puck desperately looked at her, trying to convey his words but not being able to say them. Instead, he grabbed her suddenly by the waist, pressing his lips to hers so abruptly that she was caught off guard, winding her arms around his neck as he held her tightly. They stumbled against the shelves, sending bandages flying to the floor as she clung onto him, their kisses becoming more passionate as he slipped his tongue past her lips, running it against hers. She moaned into the kiss, absent-mindedly tugging at the bottom of his blue scrub shirt.

Pulling away, his eyes dark and eager, Puck quickly discarded of his shirt, and she did the same, feeling vulnerable yet safe in his arms as he quickly embraced her again.

'So beautiful..' He murmured huskily into the sensitive spot on her neck, and suddenly it was too much for her. She needed to feel his skin against hers- the desperation was becoming too much, and she was surprised that she'd managed to last this last month without being this close to him.

Quickly releasing her bra strap, she discarded of the flimsy material as she frantically dragged her nails across his bare, toned back, and he lifted her up against the shelves, moving between her legs and gripping the backs of her legs so she didn't fall. She wound her legs around his waist, slipping her hand under his scrub pants and fumbling with his boxers. He groaned throatily into her mouth, his hands roaming her body before moving them hungrily to her chest-

_Beep beep. _

Quinn immediately pulled away, groaning as she noticed her pager, having dropped it on the floor, flashing to signal an emergency. Puck continued kissing her all over, and she weakly tried to push him away.

'No, Puck-'

'Just ignore it, this is more important-' He told her, and she considered staying with him for a moment for shaking her head, pulling away.

'I can't, I'm already on Dr Jones' bad side.' She reminded him, trying to control her breathing before pulling on her discarded clothing as Puck rested against the wall, his toned chest heaving up and down as he tried to think away what had emerged in his boxers.

'Come back?' He asked hopefully, and she rolled her eyes and laughed. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed, having got so carried away...and yet it had felt too good to feel guilty about.

Quinn was about to leave, when she turned abruptly back towards him, leaning in for another kiss. He attempted to deepen it, but she pulled away before he could get any further. She grinned as he pouted, and sighed. 'We need to talk, when I'm done.'

And with that she left, her mind whirring. _What had she just done?_

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><p><em>That was a fun chapter to write, so I hope you enjoyed it and keep reviewing! Thanks so much for all of them. I'm sorry about the Faberry friendship drama, I know a few of you were digging it. Don't worry, the sun will come out tomorrow...I'm not sure if the chapter will, but I'll try my best to update as soon as I can. Until then, please let me know what you think! Any ideas, I'm all ears. xo<em>


	7. Hiding My Heart

**Chapter 6: Hiding My Heart**

_"Communication. It's the first thing we really learn in life. Funny thing is, once we grow up, learn our words and really start talking the harder it becomes to know what to say. Or how to ask for what we really need." ~ _Meredith Grey**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>'Tell me again why we're doing this?'<p>

'Well,' Brittany began, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and smiling from across the table. Santana was on the other side, both of them 'working on' a plastic baby mannequin in the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat peaceful in the room they'd chosen- Santana always came down here when she needed time to think...or rather punch a wall. This job was so fucking stressful sometimes. It was making her even more tired lately, too, and she was pretty sure one of the kids had given her a flu or something, from the amount of times she'd been running to the bathroom to throw up over the past couple of days.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she had to deal with all the _drama _happening at the minute. Quinn and Rachel, the drama queens they were, were still fighting over the kiss.

(Really, Santana couldn't see what the big deal was. She'd made plenty of drunken mistakes, much worse than a puny kiss. And really, even though she'd hit on him for medicinal purposes, it was _Finn Hudson. _Talk about Pastry bag.)

Anyway, all that she'd heard from Quinn in their nightly chats (Since her apartment sucked and Quinn's was _awesome, _she'd basically taken to sleeping there almost every night since the party, and the blonde didn't seem to mind seeing as Rachel wasn't talking to her.) was that Rachel refused to talk to her after the fight, and Finn meant nothing to her.

Along with all that and the fact that Kurt was still asking advice on how to talk to Blaine, she felt like mother-fucking Theresa, just younger and hotter.

'This'll give us practice, just not on a real kid.' Brittany told her, looking smug as Santana restrained from rolling her eyes. The woman was a kick-ass doctor and awesome with the kids, but she was slightly..._simple-minded _when it came to other things.

'Yeah, I guessed that but-' She stopped when Brittany looked up at her, her startlingly blue round eyes wide and innocent, and shook her head. '-nothing.'

Brittany just nodded, and continued. 'Plus, it gives me time to think about something else. I had _the _worst date last night, and that's coming from someone that once dated a leprechaun. She was basically on the phone the entire time, just texting and looking at it even when I was talking to her-'

Santana's eyebrows shot up into her hairline, feeling shocked- the words blurted out of her mouth before she could stop them. 'She? As in...she?'

Brittany blinked, before giving her a small smile. 'I guess you didn't know that then.'

Santana shook her head, stunned.

'I date girls _and _guys.' She shrugged. 'It's more fun that way, and I like being with both of them so...'

'But doesn't it get confusing?' She stuttered, 'I mean, going from girl to guy? Do they mind?'

'Sometimes, but- if they have a problem with me being Bi than I know they're not for me.' The blonde replied lightly, still looking down at the baby mannequin that Santana had abandoned to just stare at Brittany. 'I kinda lean towards women, though.' She added seriously. 'I mean, my last proper relationship was with a guy, Artie, but...it just wasn't there. I loved him and all, but the spark wasn't there.' She looked up at Santana then, whose mind was whirring as she stared back. They locked eyes for a moment, brown against blue, before Santana looked back at the baby, clearing her throat and now giving it her full attention.

**XXX**

'Dr Evans, could you please pass me the scalpel?'

Quinn glanced at Sam, who immediately passed the object to Dr Hudson, who was busy operating on a man's lung tumour as a few other interns watched, scattered around the room. Most importantly, Rachel was the other side, keeping a careful distant and avoiding eye contact with Quinn, who kept looking at her in hope of some sort of contact.

She just didn't get it at all. She'd _apologised, _it was a drunken mistake. It wasn't like it'd gone any further than a stupid kiss. Dr Hudson seemed to be over it, as proven when Rachel stepped out to contact one of the other doctors.

'She's still mad, huh?' He asked lowly once Rachel had gone, and Quinn sighed.

'Uh-huh.' She replied grimly, glancing at Sam, who squirmed slightly. She knew he was feeling guilty for telling Rachel, and well...Quinn was in a bad mood today anyway after a terrible night's sleep (and she was pretty sure Santana, who was staying with her, was the source of giving her some sort of virus and making her throw up all the time), so it was only rational that she took out some of her anger on making Sam feel guilty, right?

'I'm sorry.' Finn told her, looking guiltier than Sam. 'I shouldn't have...' He glanced at the other doctors listening in, before lowering his voice. 'I shouldn't have done it. But...it's in the past now, so, we can move on?' His tone was hopeful, and Quinn felt relieved. At least he wasn't still hung up over anything.

'Yeah, of course-'

She was cut off by Rachel coming back into the room, avoiding any eye contact with her. Quinn rolled her eyes, fed up now.

'Dr Fabray, there's a request from one of your patients in room 117 that you need to attend to, if you're not busy.' One of the nurses told her from the other side of the room, gesturing to the phone.

'Sure.' She murmured, already making her way out of the room and storming past Rachel.

As the door to the OR slammed behind her, Rachel finally looked up, her eyes trained on Quinn's back, as she took off her scrub cap and let her blonde hair loose again. She sighed, looking back at the floor sadly. She just _missed _her best friend, despite the anger she still felt over the kiss. It wasn't so much the anger that was holding her back from apologising to Quinn, but the pride she had. Plus, why should she apologise?

'Dr Berry, could I get your assistance over here?' Finn called suddenly, and she jumped before moving towards him quickly, nervously avoiding eye contact with him. She hated that he'd seen her fighting...she doubted it was very glamorous, or mature...

And despite the fact that he had chosen _Quinn, _she still couldn't get rid of the overwhelming _crush _she had on him. She was glad Sam had left too, and it was only them and a couple of anaesthesiologists in the OR.

As she gently used the suction tools, Finn cleared his throat.

'So...Quinn was telling me about you, at the party.'

Rachel's heart almost stopped, and her mind flashed back to the memories from that night she was gradually regaining, like taking off her top on the kitchen counter and singing a drunken rendition of 'Like a Virgin'.

'Oh?' She asked carefully, glad her mask covered part of her reddening face. Oh god, what had he seen? And more importantly, why the fuck was Quinn telling him something this embarrassing?

'Yeah- I mean, she didn't mean to, she was drunk so it wasn't intentional.' He added quickly, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. 'She just let slip that...well, she told me that you might have a little crush on me.' He murmured lightly, and Rachel was pretty sure her heart came to a halt.

Her hands began to shake suddenly, her throat closing painfully as the room remained silent. He...he _knew..._

'I'm sorry?' She asked lightly. Oh god, why was her voice so timid?

'No, I mean it's totally cool, don't worry. She just let it slip, and I thought it was...endearing, y'know? But...' His tone grew gentler, and Rachel realised she wasn't even mad that Quinn had accidentally told him, but more mad that he was actually _bringing it up _in an OR, of all places. 'I don't really think anything could happen between us. You being an intern and all...I think it'd just be best if we kept this professional.'

_Which is code for, I don't like you that way, but it's cool that you have a crush on me. _She thought to herself bitterly.

'Right.' Rachel murmured, her chest feeling tighter now. She tried to focus on the blood she was supposed to suction before her, but the only blood she could focus on was the rush of it pounding in her ears, and the blood rushing to her face. She could feel tears of humiliation beading in her eyes, and was glad other interns weren't there. Her vision blurred slightly through her tears, and with a thud, the tool she held fell to the floor.

'Dr Be-' Finn began questioningly, before Rachel turned on her heel and fled out of the OR and into the gallery, the tears over-flowing out of her eyes as she scrambled out of the mask and let her sobs free. She was so _humiliated..._and devastated, if she was being honest.

She stayed there until the surgery was over, not being able to move. It was only when Finn came out that she immediately got up, wiping her eyes on the backs of her hands, as she scrambled towards the door.

'Rachel, wait-' Finn began, moving towards her. She whirled around though, anger replacing the heartbreak at the sound of his stupid voice.

'No! You _don't _get to do the apology! You've done enough!' She told him loudly, pointing at him accusingly as he stared at her.

'What did-'

'How _dare _you make me leave a surgery like that.' She bit out darkly, her chest heaving up and down. 'How could you _do _that, humiliating and basically rejecting me during a surgery!' Her voice grew steadily louder, until she was shouting.

'But I-'

She cut him off again, angered by the way he didn't _get it. _'I am a _good _doctor. My surgeries, my patients, the life on the table _always _come before my emotions, or any drama going on in my life, always. _You, _don't get to change that about me. _You, _don't get to make me ditch a surgery because you prefer pretty blondes to someone as "endearing" as me.'

With that, Rachel spun around on her heel, the rage overwhelming her as she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving him stunned in the OR Gallery.

**XXX**

'Hi I was just wondering if you rememb-no...okay, Dr Anderson, I just wanted to apologise...' Kurt paced back and forth down the hall, rehearsing his 'speech' over and over again as he waited for Blaine to appear somewhere, anywhere. He hadn't seen him over the past couple of days, having different shifts and not being on his service whenever they were in the hospital together.

Just as he was fretting, he saw the dark-haired doctor emerging from the doors on the other side of the hall, staring down at the binder he was holding and making a few notes as he walked in Kurt's directions, completely unaware of him. He really _was _gorgeous...his dark, tousled hair...smooth, tan skin...

Taking a deep breath and moving forward brightly, Kurt called out. 'Dr Anderson!'

Blaine glanced up at the sound of his name, barely acknowledging Kurt before looking back down at his binder and coming to a slow stop in front of him. 'Kurt, what can I do for you?' His tone was professional, blunt but Kurt continued.

'I was wondering if I could talk to you about something...or rather, apologise.' He murmured, and Blaine furrowed his brow. _Don't go red, don't go red..._Kurt thought to himself quickly.

'Okay, shoot.'

Kurt paused, watching the doctors face as he stared back, his eyes unreadable. 'Okay, well- while I don't remember due to being horrendously intoxicated that night-' He gave a nervous chuckle, trying to ease the tension '-I'm under the impression that...that we kissed at Qu- Dr fabray's party. I mean, I kissed you. I mean, not intentionally but under influence of alcohol.' Kurt stumbled, growing increasingly nervous as he wrung his hands and Blaine's face remained emotionless 'Or maybe it was drugs- not that _I took _drugs but I wouldn't put it past one of the other jerks to try and roofie me or something-'

'Look, Kurt, it doesn't matter anymore, okay? It happened, we just need to get past it.' Blaine told him, and Kurt blinked, caught off guard by the man's firm tone of voice.

'Okay...so we're...'

'Completely professional.' Blaine told him, his eyes resolved and never leaving Kurt's face. 'In fact, we don't need to talk about it anymore, okay?' With that, he gave a grim smile and swiftly moved away, leaving Kurt to blink behind him, stunned.

'Wait!' He suddenly turned towards the man walking away, and Blaine turned, raising his eyebrows. 'I'm offering you an apology here.' He told him incredulously, and Blaine's eyes momentarily flashed with something- guilt? Regret?

'I know.' He nodded. 'I-' He teetered on the edge of speech, before shaking his head and walking away, leaving Kurt to wonder what the hell that was about alone.

**XXX**

_Feeling the moment slip away__  
><em>_Losing direction, you're losing faith__  
><em>_You're wishing for someone_

Puck caught sight of Blaine, who was looking angry as he stormed down the hall, binder in hand. He hurried towards him, turning his head left and right as he did so.

'Hey man, have you seen-'

'Fabray? No, sorry.' He replied shortly, moving away as Puck stood there, half concerned that the man knew who he was looking for. Was he that obvious? Then again, he'd been asking anyone and everyone if they knew were Quinn was over the past half hour, not having seen her properly since the incident in the equipment cupboard.

It probably made him a bit of a sissy for being so concerned about her, but right now he had no energy to care.

Suddenly spotting another reliable intern around the corner, he hurried after him.

'Hey, kid!'

_Feeling it all begin to slide__  
><em>_Am I just like you?_

Quinn finished changing out of her scrubs, letting her hair fan over her coat and rubbing her temples soothingly, relieved to be going home now. It had been a long day, and she was desperate to get home to find out if-

Her dismal thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door to the locker room opening, and she turned to find Rachel walking in, also in normal clothes. The brunette suddenly caught sight of her, her eyes wide and nervous. They locked eyes, and Quinn bit her lip before Rachel began to turn, reaching for the handle.

_Turning to face what you've become,__  
><em>_Buried the ashes of someone__  
><em>_Broken by the strain__  
><em>_Trying to fill that space inside_

'Wait, stop-' Quinn moved forward and Rachel turned again, watching the blonde as she reached behind her, shutting the door again. '-Stop avoiding me. It's just me, Rach.'

Rachel cleared her throat, nodding. 'Okay. What do you want?' She moved into the room, and Quinn followed her, stopping a few feet away and trying to hold back tears.

'I just wanna talk to you. And apologise. For what I did, and how I acted.'

'Quinn-'

'No please, let me finish.' Quinn held up her hands, before folding them together in front of her. 'Listen, I know you're mad at me. I hurt you, I disregarded your feelings, and I get that, I do. But-' Her voice wavered slightly as tears pooled in her eyes, and Rachel's face softened slightly. '-I really need you right now, Rachel. You're- you're my best friend, and I'm so, _so _sorry that I hurt you. I just- I don't know how I can fix this, and make you forgive me-'

'I forgive you.' Rachel suddenly blurted out, and Quinn stopped, still crying but confused. 'I do, I just- I needed space. Time.' She gave a grimace, moving forward. 'It did hurt. What you did, but- y'know, I get that you were drunk now, and that had you been sober-'

'I never would've done that.' Quinn assured her, reaching forward and squeezing the brunette's arm, relieved.

'Yeah. I know.' Rachel nodded, giving a small smile in return. 'I just- I'm still kinda hurting over him basically rejecting me in an OR-'

'Wait, _what?'_

'Now's not the time.' She shook her head as Quinn gaped at her, before taking one of her hands and swinging it back and forth lightly. 'But I'll get over it. I mean, you're my best friend...I don't wanna fight anymore.' Rachel shrugged, and Quinn nodded, giving a weak smile as Rachel wiped away a tear for her.

_Am I just like you?_

'Good, because I really need my best friend right now.' She told her, reaching down to hug Rachel as the small brunette sighed, relieved that it was all over. It was only then Quinn's repeated statement clicked with her, and she pulled away, frowning.

_How do you feel when there's no sun?__  
><em>_And how will you be when rain clouds come and pull you down again?__  
><em>_How will you feel when there's no one?_

'Wait...what do you mean you really need me right now?'

Quinn froze, before shaking her head and beginning to turn away. 'Oh, no it's nothing-'

'But- Quinn, seriously, what's going on?' She questioned, following the blonde as she turned towards her locker, rifling through it and continuously shaking her head vigorously, trying to avoid looking at the brunette. 'Hey! You can tell me.' She grabbed Quinn's arm gently, and the blonde paused, dropping her head as Rachel stared at her.

'I can't.'

Rachel frowned. 'Why not?'

'Because...this shouldn't be happening...' A tear rolled down Quinn's pale cheek as Rachel grabbed her shoulders, trying to turn them to face her.

_Feeling the moment slip away_

'Hey, hey-' She finally turned her, but Quinn didn't look at her, looking at the floor miserably as she trembled. 'Come on, it's just me. You can tell me anything.' Rachel murmured softly, and Quinn took a deep breath, silently debating. 'What is it?'

There was a pause, silence in the room before Quinn finally looked at her, her face careful and her hazel eyes pooled with tears.

'I think I'm pregnant.'

_Cause I'm just like you_

* * *

><p><em>First of all, I'm so so sorry for my lack of updates lately! It's exam season at the minute, so I'll be honest- I'm not sure when I'll next be able to update, but the summer's coming up so obviously I'll have loads of time then! Second of all, I hope you're all enjoying the story. I've planned out the next chapters- in fact, all the way to the end of the story- and I promise that all the couples I promised at the beginning <em>will _get together eventually, even if their looking dim now! As for the cliffhanger...that's only the beginning ;) Hope you enjoyed, please please review with opinions or ideas! Love you all xo_


	8. Stand By Me

**Chapter 7: Stand By Me**

**"**_We can only lie to ourselves for so long. Denying it doesn't change the truth. Sooner or later we have to put aside our denial and face the world. Head on, guns blazing." _

Meredith Grey

* * *

><p>Kurt wasn't really sure what made him go to Quinn's house, but- they all had similar shifts, meaning that even if Quinn wasn't home, Santana, who had taken to basically sharing the house with the blonde, probably would be. He needed to vent to someone, and he had no idea where Rachel was.<p>

He waltzed into the house, glad it was unlocked, and stormed through to the spacious kitchen, where Santana was sitting on the counter, staring into space as she drummed her fingers on the counter. She looked troubled, her brow furrowed, but he barely noticed in his anger.

'Quinn home?' He asked, putting his hands on his hips, and Santana nodded dully.

'Yeah. Rachel too. They came home only a few minutes ago and just went straight upstairs. I probably should check that they're not macking or killing eachother, but I can't be bothered.' She shrugged.

'Wait-' He paused, his anger momentarily on hold in his confusion. 'I thought they were fighting?'

'So did I.' Santana murmured, looking bitter before staring back at the wall. There was silence, before Kurt remembered why he needed to vent.

'I hate Blaine.' He told no-one in particular, grabbing the first bottle of booze he saw from under the counter and pulling out two shot glasses, handing one to Santana. She paused before taking it, and glanced up at him.

'Why?' She questioned, her voice suddenly devoid of all emotion...no sarcasm, no witty joke, which was just odd.

'Ugh, because-' He stumbled on words for a bit, still furious but generally _wounded. _'I did what you all said, I apologised and sincerely asked if we could put the- _incident _behind us, and he totally shunned me!' He paused for dramatic effect, but Santana continued to stare at him, her eyes conflicted. He continued anyway, pacing up and down the kitchen and tapping his fingers on his now-empty shot glass in agitation. Santana just watched him pace up and down.

'You could tell, he was like..._angry _with me, and I have no idea why! I don't get what I did wrong, apart from the obvious- but I apologised, that should clear the air at least a little. He was so nice to me before, and I really liked him, but now I think someone needs to tell him to take that stick out of his fucking-'

'I think I'm pregnant.'

Kurt cut off completely, his head snapping almost comically to face Santana, who just stared at him with an empty expression, giving no indication that she'd just said something. He almost thought he had imagined it, before her eyes welled up with tears and he noticed the untouched shot on the counter, and the shaky hands clasped in her lap.

There was a pause, before Kurt moved forward ever so slightly, unsure of how to handle the situation.

'You think you're..._pregnant?'_

**XXX**

'Okay, so walk me through it- I'm guessing I have a lot to catch up on.' Rachel murmured, sitting down on Quinn's bed and watching the blonde through wide eyes. After Quinn had admitted that she thought she was pregnant, the pair had gone straight back to her house, not wanting to talk about it in a hospital where anyone could hear them.

_Especially one man in particular, _Quinn had thought to herself grimly, and she sat down beside Rachel, taking a shaky breath. Her heart was thumping painfully in her chest, overwhelmed by the situation. Speaking the words aloud had made it seem all the more real, even though she was utterly relieved to have her best friend to talk to about it.

'Okay. Well- I'm guessing you heard me when I threw up this morning?'

Rachel nodded silently, her mind still reeling as Quinn continued.

'That's been happening for the last week or so, but this morning was when I realised it could actually mean something...I missed my period.' She added, her voice cracking slightly as she realised how stupid she'd been to ignore the signs. 'I've just been so caught up with the hospital, and us fighting, I didn't really give myself a chance to actually think I was...' She trailed off, and Rachel scooted over to grab her hand gently.

There was a pause as Quinn sniffled for a bit, before Rachel tentatively asked the question that had been on her mind since Quinn had told her the news:

'Quinn, who's the dad?'

Quinn froze, before gently releasing her hand from Rachel's and turning to face the small brunette, staring at her and silently debating. Seeing the girl's pleading brown eyes though, she realised that now, she really had nothing to hide.

'You have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Not Kurt, not anyone.' She whispered, and Rachel nodded earnestly.

'You can trust me, Quinn.'

She took a deep breath. 'It's Puck.'

'As in-'

'Dr Puckerman, yeah.'

Rachel gaped at her for a bit, incredulous before closing her mouth and controlling herself. 'That's...wow. I mean- I guess, it always seemed a bit strange between you two- I mean the chemistry is obviously there, as well as the sexual tens-'

'Rach-'

'Right, sorry. I just...wow. Why didn't you tell me?'

Quinn restrained from rolling her eyes, amused by the brunette's pout despite the situation. 'I was just hoping it would all go away eventually. I guess I didn't see this coming.' She gave a dark chuckle.

'But did you use-'

'Yeah, we used protection. I made sure.'

'Have you taken-'

'No.' Quinn shook her head, finishing Rachel's question once again. 'I couldn't. I'm too...I _can't _be pregnant, Rach.' She murmured, a tear falling down her cheek as Rachel's face fell in sympathy. 'This isn't supposed to happen. Not now.'

'Come here.' Rachel whispered, pulling the blonde in for a hug as the latter's shoulder shook with her crying. She hated seeing the girl so broken, as opposed to her usual stubborn and strong self. She couldn't think of anything to say to make it better.

'Listen, I'm gonna go downstairs and get you some water, and then we're gonna make a game-plan, okay?' She leant back, wiping a few tears of Quinn's cheeks and offering a small smile. The blonde attempted one back, grabbing some Kleenex as Rachel went out of the bedroom and downstairs.

Rachel took a deep breath, moving towards the kitchen and trying to be strong. She had to be, for Quinn, seeing as Puck had no idea. Even if he did, what would he do? He seemed decent enough, but for a pregnant intern? Rachel wasn't going to let him upset Quinn, that was for sure. Not if she could help it.

'_Do you know who the baby daddy is?'_

Rachel paused outside the door to the kitchen, startled by Kurt's voice inside. Baby daddy...he was talking to someone else. Did someone else tell him about Quinn's possible baby? But no, Quinn had told her she was the only one that-

'_No, and I'm not looking to find out.'_ Santana.'_All the guys that I've slept with are useless scum, who cares if the kid I may or may not be carrying is theirs-'_

Suddenly Rachel burst in, her eyes wide as Kurt and Santana turned to look at her, just as shocked. She looked between the pair, incredulous. Was she on some sort of fucked up soap opera or something?

'_You're pregnant too?' _She hissed, closing the door behind her and moving into the kitchen.

'Ever heard of knocking, Rach?' Kurt pressed his palm to his forehead, looking tired and exasperated. Santana just stared at the small girl, half accusing and half shocked, the tear tracks on her cheeks still visible as she hastily wiped them away.

'What do you mean- I'm not- _too?'_

'I can't believe this. Santana, you're...' Rachel trailed off, feeling a strange sense of déjà-vu.

'No-' Santana began in defiance, before Kurt put a hand on the Latina's and cut her off.

'Yes, we _think _she is but we're not sure.' He assured her in a firm, motherly tone. 'Wait, what do you mean by _too? _Who else is pregnant? Oh god, don't tell me it's you.' He shook his head, and Santana stared between them both, angered by the fact that they were basically ignoring her but too overwhelmed to say anything.

'It's...not me.' Rachel trailed off, glancing worriedly at Santana.

'Well if it's not you then-'

'Quinn?' Santana suddenly spoke, her voice raspy and shocked as her eyes widened slightly, realisation hitting her. She hadn't been the only one making trips to the bathroom to throw up lately...

Rachel stared at her, remaining silent, but the other pair already had their answer.

'Oh my gaga.' Kurt murmured, staring into space and pouring a cocktail without even looking at it.

Santana suddenly stood up. 'Where is she? I wanna talk to her.'

Rachel moved towards the door. 'Hold that thought...Quinn?' She called up the stairs, and immediately heard footsteps.

'Yeah?'

'You need to come down here..' She bit her lip as footsteps padded down the stairs, overwhelmed by the evening's drama.

Quinn had changed into a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, having expected Rachel to come upstairs with a good supply of cookie dough and some ice-cream. Her eyes were puffy, and surveyed the other three with curiosity. 'What's going on?'

There was silence in the room as Kurt glanced at Santana, Quinn feeling immensely uncomfortable by now. What had Rachel told them?

Kurt addressed the Latina first. 'Sweetie, do you wanna tell her or should I?'

**XXX**

Quinn sat next to Santana awkwardly, the pair of them in silence after grilling eachother for details for the past half hour. Rachel and Kurt had left them alone to 'sort it out' (whatever that meant), so they were sat on the floor of the sitting room, Santana nervously tapping her foot and Quinn with her knees curled up to her chest.

'So what do we do now?' She asked quietly, and Santana blinked. They'd known eachother for months now, but she'd never seen the usually fiery Latina look so vulnerable and at-loss.

'Well there's no way I'm pregnant.' Santana told her lowly, shaking her head. 'I _can't _be pregnant.'

Quinn nodded- she knew the feeling.

'I mean, come on- I don't even know who the dad is! All the guys I've slept with have been one-night assholes that I don't even remember the names of.' She winced, and the blonde bit her lip, at loss of what to say. She regretted that instantly though, as Santana probed further.

'Whose _your _baby daddy anyway? Oh no, don't tell me it's Hudson.' She added, looking horrified. 'I mean I'm no expert- well that's a lie, actually I am- but I'm pretty sure any spawn from _that _giant would be a lot harder to push out then, say, a normal baby-'

'Don't even go there, Santana.'

'Right. Sorry.' Luckily she asked nothing more, seemingly forgetting her original question in her horror over a baby-Finn.

Another pause, before- 'We need to find out. For definite, I mean. We can't just go around assuming stuff, and the sooner we find out the better.'

Santana nodded, before turning to face Quinn, her face determined and a bit softer than before. 'Okay, so tomorrow we go to the obstetrician and find out whether we're...for definite, okay?'

Quinn gave a weak grimace, taking a deep breath. 'Okay. We can do this, we're doctors.'

'Kick ass doctors.' Santana assured her, before sitting back against the couch.

'We can do this.' Quinn repeated, moving next to Santana and closing her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

It had been a long night.

**XXX**

Puck walked into the reception, already in a bitter mood as he picked up his schedule for the day. Mother of _four, _declared dead as soon as she got to the hospital. It was days like this when he wondered _why _he was a doctor in the first place.

'Hey Anderson-' He suddenly called out, spotting the short brunette across the room. He looked up, startled, his eyes slightly red and puffy like he'd gotten hardly any sleep. 'Where've you been all morning?'

'Sorry man, I took a different shift to avoi- just to catch up on some paperwork.' He shrugged, and Puck slung an arm around his shoulders, snorting.

'Uh-huh. Anyways, have you seen Evans and Qu- Fabray?' Puck cleared his throat slightly, and Blaine crooked an eyebrow. 'They're on my service today, we start prep in like 15 minutes.'

'Umm, yeah, I saw Evans heading towards the locker room, but-' Blaine glanced at the sheet on his clipboard. 'It says Fabray's on my service today.'

He paused, frowning. 'Bullshit, let me see that-'

Sure enough, emblazoned on the schedule sheet next to another intern, was 'Quinn Fabray'.

'But she was on the list yester-' His angry frown fell then, replaced by a scowl. This was the 2nd time she'd done this that week. 'She switched Residents. Again.'

Blaine glanced at the floor awkwardly, before raising his eyebrows. 'Why do you care so much, anyway?'

His scowl deepened- 'I don't, she's just a good intern. She's not annoying, or some greasy kid like that guy with the afro that we still can't find a scrub cap big enough for-'

'Uh-huh.' Now it was Blaine's turn to smirk as Puck began to walk away, suddenly seeing a rush of interns walk through the doors. 'Look at Puckzilla, crushing on an intern!'

'You can talk!' Puck shouted back, Blaine flipping him the bird before he moved towards the interns, looking out for her. It didn't take him long to find mop of shiny blonde hair, her face looking more dark and troubled than usual (Though somehow she still looked fucking breath-taking).

She hadn't seen him- yet- and as he moved closer he could see the dark circles under her eyes, how her skin was noticeably paler. She looked _ill. _

'Quinn!' He moved towards her swiftly, and she jumped slightly, her hazel eyes widening as she saw him.

Unlucky for him (But lucky for her) a gaggle of interns suddenly rushed past, laughing about something and blocking his path towards her. She saw that as her escape and rushed in the other direction, taking the Hummel kid by his elbow and pulling him away swiftly. He pushed the interns aside with ease, but by that point, she was gone.

Cursing out loud and causing a few interns to goggle at him, he slammed the clipboard he was holding down on the counter.

This really wasn't his fucking day.

**XXX**

'Okay, well everything is intact, we've got all of the tumour out...looks like you'll be able to make that show after all, Dr Berry.'

Rachel rolled her eyes, really not in the mood for Dr Puckerman's jokes today. He was a great doctor, he really was, but he was an _ass _sometimes. But, obviously she had to show him _some _respect due to Quinn's situation. It gave her a sense of almost superiority, knowing what she did about him.

Though she can't help but feel for the guy.

'That was last week, Dr Puckerman, but it's nice to see you remember that while I'm a surgeon I also have a huge amount of respect for the arts-'

'Anyway-' He interrupted, and Rachel exchanged a look with another intern, Lauren, who smirked back as if to say 'He's a dick, huh?'

'Pass me that scalpel, Dr Berry, and while you're at it-' Puck looked up at her then, dead in the eyes as Rachel began to pass the scalpel towards him. '-Would you mind telling me what's up with Dr Fabray lately?'

She froze, scalpel in hand as she gaped at him slightly. He had nerve. She controlled herself quickly luckily, despite everyone else's curious stares piercing them both. She swallowed, handing him the scalpel. 'I'm not sure what you're referring to Dr Puckerman.'

He continued working on the patient as he spoke. 'Well, she's been looking sorta down and depressed lately. She's not ill or anything?' He asked, and she could hear the faint tone of concern in his voice.

'No, she's...not ill. And I hardly think this is an appropriate topic of conversation for an hour, Dr-'

'She's an intern, I'm just concerned for her, that's all.' He replied bluntly, 'I'm her Resident, it's only natural for me to be worried for her.' His tone was too friendly, too _clinical _and Rachel snorted despite herself. His head whipped up in her direction, and his eyes scanned her face for a moment. She swallowed- did he know that _she _knew about what had gone down between him and Quinn?

'I have an idea- a game anyone?'

'I'd be happy too sir-'

'Not you Pepper. Rachel- here's how it goes, I ask a question, and you reply with the first thing that comes to your mind okay?'

'I don't really wanna play a gam-'

'First questions- cats or dogs?'

'Cats- but I still think-'

'Blue or Purple?'

'Blue but-'

'Stripes or Polka dots?'

'Dr Puc-'

'Is Quinn hiding something from me, yes or no-'

'Ye- stop it!'

'Aha! So she _is.' _He pointed at the flustered brunette accusingly, before going back to sewing up the woman on the table as everyone else in the room gaped at the bickering pair. 'Tell me Berry, what's going on?'

'Nothing-'

'I beg to differ-'

'It's not your business-'

'I'm her resident-'

'And so you should know everything about us?'

'Damn straight-'

'I'm not telling you-'

'Dr Berry-'

'Now can we please get back to the patient-'

'What's going on with-'

'She thinks she's pregnant okay!' It came out in a half shriek, half hiss and if it wasn't for the blood on her doctor's gloves, her hand would've flown to her mouth as she squeaked, horrified at what she'd said.

Puck froze, his face unreadable apart from the pure _shock _on it. He stared at Rachel, trying to fathom what she'd just told him before his eyes darted to the door, almost as if he was considering running out of there.

'No no no _no..' _Rachel murmured to herself, feeling her skin prickle. Her and her stupid big mouth. Quinn was going to _murder _her.

Interrupting all thoughts in the room, the sudden sound of flat-lining sounded on the monitor, and all doctors jumped into action.

'Suction- somebody get me a crash cart, _now!'_

**XXX**

'Ugh, how long is this gonna take?' Santana broke the silence in the OB's office, snapping impatiently and fidgeting with them hem of the hospital gown they'd both had to wear for the test. They were both sitting the recliner chair, nervously awaiting for the nurse to come back and tell them if they were pregnant or not.

It was almost relaxing, Quinn had thought to herself, having someone next to her to go through this with. Last time hadn't been so easy.

'How's it been with Puck?' The latina asked quietly, glancing at Quinn, who exhaled deeply. She had had to tell Santana eventually- not that her reply had been anything less than she expected- something to the effect of 'Wow you really got screwed over. Literally, by a resident.' Shortly followed by 'Lucky bitch'.

'Well, I successfully avoided him all day, if that counts.' With great difficulty, too. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed or charmed by his persistence.

A bit of both, really. But she couldn't focus on that now.

'Are you...gonna tell him?' She asked tentatively, and Quinn's face fell even more.

'Let's just wait for the test results, then I'll decide.'

They sat in silence for a while longer, before the Nurse suddenly came back in the room, smiling. For some reason, Santana had specially requested that Dr Pierce _didn't _do the test, so they had another woman, whose constant smile made Quinn a bit on edge.

'Well, I have both of your results here, and-'

She was halted by a sudden rush of footsteps and shouting outside, before the door burst open, and-

'Puck?' Quinn gasped slightly, frozen as her heart thudded painfully in her chest.

Puck had rushed in, wild-eyed and panting, before Rachel ran in behind him, equally tired and frantically looking at Quinn with apologetic eyes. Quinn looked at her questioningly, before it dawned on her.

'You know?' She murmured softly, watching Puck nervously. Why wasn't he angry? Throwing stuff, or storming out?

'Yeah.' He nodded briskly, barging past the surprised nurse and moving to stand beside the blonde on the chair, who tugged down her hospital gown nervously as he stared at her. It was the most determined she'd seen him, his jaw clenched as Rachel went to stand next to an aghast Santana.

'What are you doing here?'

Puck almost rolled his eyes. 'I didn't think I'd have to explain myself-'

'Well, you do.' She replied automatically, touched by his bold actions but still a little peeved off at his sudden appearance.

He nodded then, before stepping closer. He took a deep breath, still panting.

It was _such _inappropriate timing, but Quinn noted that he looked good all determined and _manly._

'Listen. Quinn- I know that this is terrible timing, and that it's kinda none of my business- well it is I guess, seeing as it would be my baby and all-' Quinn winced uncomfortably and glanced at Santana, who was looking at Puck with mingled impatience and curiosity. '-but...I'm here, okay? I- I _really, really _care about you. And I'm not going anywhere, because-' He suddenly grasped her hand, and she felt it tingle as if he'd given her an electric shock. '-I know that I'm probably the last guy you'd wanna have a baby with. I get that. But- whatever happens, whatever you decide. I'm here. I'll be here for as long as you want me, with the baby, or without. I _want _to be here for you.'

His eyes pleaded with her as she stared at him, suddenly on the verge of tears as she searched his brown eyes with her own hazel ones. She nodded meekly, giving an attempted smile as she sniffed slightly. He nodded, relieved before the nurse cleared her throat. She jumped, and glanced at Santana who was now staring at the nurse with a terrified expression.

'Would you like to hear the results?' She asked, a little caught off guard by the declaration, and watching the three women and man in front of her in almost amusement.

They all nodded, and Puck moved closer to grasp at Quinn's hand tighter- she leaned into him instinctively, comforted by his strong frame that kept her close. She glanced at Santana, who caught her eye and nodded, before grasping the blonde's free hand. Rachel tentatively took the Latina's, until they were all linked together, watching the nurse.

'Okay, well, I've got the results, and-'

Quinn could hear nothing but her heartbeat, rapidly thumping in her chest and straining against her ribcage.

'-Only _one _of you is pregnant.'

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger. I'm guessing you guys all hate me now, but- I have my reasons, trust me. <em>

_So I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter- it was a lot of explanation, but there's more drama coming out, trust me. In fact, if you're cool enough to be reading this, I'll tell you a secret: Chapter 9 will be big. Like, real drama and possible destruction...I'll leave it at that. But I can't wait to write it._

_I promise, there's more coupley stuff coming up, too! I hope you all enjoyed it, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks so much to everyone that continues to review, favourite and put me on their alerts. You guys make me seriously giddy. xo_

**_Side Note: _**_I apologise if there's mistakes in this chapter- as I've said before, with exams coming up (Thanks for the good lucks, btw! :D) I'm short on time, and I just wanted to get this chapter up for you guys- but at a cost of possible mistakes. Hope you don't mind too much._


	9. It's Not Over Yet

**Chapter 8: It's Not Over Yet**

**"**_Pain, you just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. _

_There are no solutions, no easy answers, you just breathe deep and wait for it to subside."_

Meredith Grey

* * *

><p>'Only <em>one <em>of you is pregnant.'

Santana kept her eyes trained on the nurse, one hand gripping Quinn's tightly and the other awkwardly linked with Rachel's. It was almost as if they were keeping her sitting, restraining her from snatching the results out of the nurse's hand, and stopping the trembling that was wracking her body. The nurse looked between her and Quinn, and she was tempted to look at the blonde to see if _she _was close to freaking out, just like she was herself.

But no. This was it. The moment of truth.

The nurse finally looked back at Santana, but instead of looking back at Quinn like she had before, she kept on looking at Santana, a small smile on her lips.

And Santana knew before the words left the nurses mouth. She knew it was all over, she could see it in the woman's eyes.

'Congratulations Dr Lopez, you're about 7 weeks along-'

She didn't believe it at first. It didn't sink in- because she _couldn't _be pregnant. She was Santana Lopez, for fuck's sake- she slept around, she was a kick ass surgeon, she didn't _do _drama. She wasn't tragic, she wasn't one of those TV characters that was bad-ass then had a baby and became a big softie.

She _couldn't _be pregnant.

It took her a few seconds to realise the others were staring at her- their eyes pierced into her skin that prickled uncomfortably, and her lips were parted, eyes wide and glazed over with tears. Quivering, she slowly turned to Quinn, whose expression was unreadable. She looked...sad. More upset than sympathetic really. Anger flared up in her momentarily. What did _she _have to be sad about? She was fucking fine, her life wasn't over- _she _wasn't carrying a baby that she hadn't even planned, hadn't anticipated.

The nurse continued to ramble on, but Santana didn't listen. All that her senses were picking up was the tight grip that Quinn kept on her hand, and the hand that Rachel had placed on her shoulder, obviously too scared to say anything. She could feel a tear run down her cheek, and the cold, plastic sheet of the chair beneath her hospital gown.

'...In a week or so you'll be far enough along for an ultra sound so if you'd like to book an appointment-'

Santana came to life then, because the nurse's words had suddenly became _way _to real to her. Her head snapped up, catching the others by surprise.

'Get out, please.' She told the nurse bluntly, not even caring how rude she was being. She was a knocked up intern, she _had _the power in a time like this.

'Santana-' Rachel began tentatively, but she ignored her.

'I _said, _get out. I would like to talk to my friends, so _go.' _She repeated through gritted teeth, and the nurse murmured something unintelligible before leaving.

It was silent for a moment, before Santana took a shaky breath and glanced to her right, where Quinn was still sat, looking on the verge of tears as Puck, who she'd almost forgotten about, remained by the blonde's side, looking thoroughly uncomfortable and unsure.

'Can you-' She began, catching his eye before he nodded, taking the hint and looking wary.

'Sure, yeah.' He cleared his throat, before releasing Quinn's hand. He stared at the blonde for a moment, looking at her questioningly, before Quinn nodded and gave him a small grimace as if to say 'thank you'. He nodded, his eyes suddenly growing sickeningly softer before he moved quickly out of the room. Her skin prickled slightly, suddenly loathing that at least Quinn would've had a support system, had she been pregnant.

But she wasn't. _Santana _was.

It was silent again, before-

'Listen, you don't have to make any rash decisions, okay? You have plenty of time, to think things through, work it out-'

'But how can I work it out?' Santana cut Quinn off, her voice wavering slightly as tears threatened to overspill again. 'I'm _pregnant, _Quinn.' The blonde winced slightly 'This isn't something I can make a schedule of, this isn't a surgery that I can just set up, this is the rest of my fucking life I have to think about here.'

_Two lives, _Santana added inside her head despite herself.

'How can I work this out? I'm a pregnant intern. I barely make enough money for me, let alone another human! My parents aren't around, I don't even know who the dad is-' She paused and swallowed, feeling miserably sorry for herself as Rachel stared sympathetically at her with big brown eyes. Oh god, now _Berry _was feeling sorry for _her_.

'I'm completely alone.'

Quinn gave a dark chuckle, sliding off the chair and going to stand in front of Santana, who avoided her eyes as the blonde gripped her arms.

'You know you can be _really _dumb sometimes.'

Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes as Quinn raised an eyebrow at her. 'Thanks for kicking me when I'm down, bitch-'

'-You say that you're completely alone,' Quinn interrupted, her voice remaining calm, but her hazel eyes still troubled. 'But you're forgetting that you have me, Rachel, Kurt, and a bunch of other people that will do anything to help and support you.'

'Quinn's right.' Rachel began, and Santana glanced at her, suddenly feeling bad for calling her yentl the other day when the brunette was being so nice now, her eyes genuine as she gave a tentative smile. 'Maybe you're right, maybe your parents aren't around, and you're not sure who the dad is- but we're you're family too.'

'We're not going anywhere.' Quinn finished, and Santana choked up slightly, failing miserably at trying to keep her composure, crying even harder as the two girls wrapped their arms around her tightly.

It appeared any pride she'd had had gone out the window as soon as she discovered there was a possibility she might be pregnant.

**XXX**

Puck couldn't work out what was wrong with him. Yesterday he'd found out that he _hadn't _knocked up an intern...he should've been happy, right?

Right. And yet he didn't. He just felt...dull. And depressed.

He had no idea where Quinn was. He guessed she'd have been with Santana- rightly so he supposed, from what he'd seen of the feisty Latina, something like this would _completely _break her spirit. She was like him with her bad-ass-ness.

But he just needed to see Quinn, and talk to her. He wanted to make sure she was okay, remind her that he would've been there for her _had _she been pregnant. He would've proved himself to her...

Almost as if she'd read his thoughts, the blonde suddenly walked through the doors, still looking pale and dejected as she had before he'd found out about the pregnancy. Maybe she really _was _getting a virus or something this time...

She caught him walking towards her, and for once didn't walk away. He wasted no time in speaking to her, handing her a schedule sheet absent-mindedly to make the exchange look innocent to all by-standers.

'Hey.' He murmured, taking in the red-rimmed eyes with concern. 'You okay?'

Quinn hesitated, before shrugging. 'I guess. Santana certainly isn't...' She trailed off, looking troubled.

'Yeah, I gathered. So...good news I guess, huh?' He said awkwardly, not really sure what to say.

'Yeah, they're perfect.' Quinn murmured, and Puck raised an eyebrow in imitation of her. He wasn't sure what to make of her reactions to everything right now. She was almost unreadable half the time, her face almost always carefully composed to betray no emotions...as odd as it sounded, he couldn't help but be attracted to that among other things.

'What do you mean?'

She gave him a slightly derisive look. 'I _mean _that everything turned out okay, right? I'm not pregnant, which is _good._' Her tone was surprisingly blunt, and he frowned slightly, caught off guard.

'Then why are you being a bitch?' He meant for it to come out sarcastic, but the way her eyes snapped up to meet his told him that he'd said too much. Her face had turned cold, _hurt. _

'Listen, I know that you must be practically _giddy _that you didn't knock up some stupid blonde intern that you don't even give a damn about-' She kept her voice low and even as she leant into him, making sure no-one else heard. '-But now is really _not _the time to be mocking me and calling _me _the bitch, okay?'

Almost as soon as Puck had begun to protest, she had turned on her heels and stormed off, leaving him completely baffled and angry behind her. He'd said he'd fucking _be _there for her, had she been pregnant. He'd practically spelt it out how much he cared, how much he...

So what the hell was her problem?

**XXX**

Rachel flicked lazily through the magazine in her hands, slightly relieved that she had a different shift to Quinn, Santana and Kurt that day. Yesterday had been so action-packed that she was almost glad to have a bit of peace and quiet in Quinn's big, empty house that her and Quinn had basically silently agreed that they now shared, along with Santana and Kurt.

The doorbell rang all of a sudden, and Rachel paused before getting up to get it. Everyone was at work...call her sad, but she didn't have many friends outside of work. It just came with the job of being a doctor.

She was only in sweats and a big jumper, her hair in a messy bun, but she opened the door without giving it any thought. She regretted it almost as soon as she'd seen the tall, lanky figure on the other side.

'Finn?' She questioned incredulously, more than shocked to see the man standing there in his normal clothes, his face in a frown. Her heart skipped a beat or two, but she pushed it aside, trying to remain hostile towards him as she folded her arms across her chest. 'What are you doing here?'

There was a pause, before he said quietly- 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said in surgery the other week, I was just-'

'There's no need to apologise-' _Slight lie. ' -_you were just telling me the truth, right?' She told him coldly, biting her lip despite herself.

'But- I- that's _not _the truth. I just...' He struggled for words, before taking a deep breath and locking his brown eyes with hers. 'I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's the fact that you yelled at me for being a dick in the OR gallery, or that you're adorable the way you're so enthusiastic about your career, or the fact that I haven't gotten you out of my head since Quinn told me what you felt...but I feel _something _for you. And it's not just friendly feelings. I'm...I really, really like you Rachel.'

Rachel was pretty sure she was about to faint with all the new information, and she tentatively reached out to hold the doorframe to steady herself as Finn stared at her, his eyes pleading. He...he _liked _her...

'Wow.' She murmured, not quite sure what to say. Part of her was screaming in joy, but the other part was still _mad _at him, however romantic and heart-warming he was being. 'I...well, you know I have feelings for you that are only getting stronger Finn, but-' Her mind briefly flicked back to the OR, and the humiliation she'd felt as she stormed out. In that moment, she'd made up her mind. '-I can't be with you. At least not right now. I'm a surgeon, Finn. And I refuse to let a man get in the way of my dreams of being an amazing one. No matter how adorable he finds my enthusiasm, or how many times I call him a dick.'

Finn nodded, as if he understood but didn't at the same time. He remained silent, obviously wounded as Rachel swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling a rush of tears.

'I'm sorry Finn, I have to go get ready for my shift.' _Again, lie. _'I'll see you around.' Her voice broke slightly on the last word, and she shut the door before he had a chance to see her cry.

She was falling for him fast, but she wouldn't let him see her that weak.

**XXX**

'You're awfully quiet Dr Lopez.'

Blaine had to fill the awkward silence. He couldn't _help _it. Santana wasn't usually the type of intern to just sit there and shut up, and it was seriously freaking him out. He'd always hated silence.

'We're filling out charts and paperwork, am I supposed to be cracking knock knock jokes?' She replied dully, barely glancing up from the chart she was currently looking at. They had the room to themselves, and sadly, it was Blaine's job as a resident to do this with the interns. Luckily, quite a few of them, like Quinn and Sam, he'd actually made good friends with. Others were a bit harder.

And then there were those- or rather, _one _man that...

It was after Santana's quick sarcasm that he began to notice a difference in her. Her eyes were rimmed and puffy, the usual eyeliner gone and replaced with constantly watery eyes. Her skin was paler than usual, and she was..._quiet. _So quiet it was bizarre.

'No, I suppose not. But...if you wanna talk to someone, I'm here.'

She rolled her eyes at that, and he couldn't help but smirk. 'Yeah, because I really enjoy confiding in my residents about my personal problems.'

He made a tittering noise, leaning back slightly. 'Damn, sharp tongue. Listen, I know that our dashing good looks and extreme skill makes us seem like Gods to you guys-' It was Santana's turn to scoff at his joking around '-but we're not _all _asses. Heck, I haven't even been a resident for that long. We're practically the same age as you guys-'

'Are you trying to emphasise the fact that intern and resident relationships are okay, or something? Because I thought you played for another team.' She told him dully, and he blushed crimson.

'Wha- no, no, I'm not- I _am _gay- look that's not the point, I just wanna remind you that we're not your bosses- well we are, but we're also here to be your friends.' He finished, feeling slightly lame as he attempted to get his face back to its normal colour. 'Though I still get to boss you guys around and stuff, I am a resident after all.'

Santana paused, before sighing and leaning forward. 'I'm still severely creeped out, but I might as well...' She trailed off, before she looked up at him, her eyes searching. 'Have something ever happened to you that's so..._life changing, _and just...something that could potentially damage the rest of your life?'

Blaine paused, his face expressionless as he leant back a bit. 'I left home when I was 16.' He murmured finally, almost talking to himself as she paused, confused. 'My dad...he wasn't too happy about me being gay...it got to a point where I'd have to basically become a completely different person around him. I could live that way. It killed me to leave my mom, but...the boarding school my grandparents paid for was so much better than I'd had at home.'

There was a brief silence as Blaine stopped, slightly confused as to why he'd just told her all that, before Santana's face suddenly scrunched up, her shoulders shaking as sobs immediately wracked her body.

'S- Santana, are you okay?' He stood up slightly, completely caught off guard at the Latina that had burst into hysterical sobs without any warning whatsoever.

'Do I look okay to you?' She broke off crying with a wild gasp, turning angrily to him before continuing with her crying. He tried to put an awkward hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

'Is there anything I can do to-'

'No, okay? My life is fucking ruined, I'm not just going to a dumb old boarding school, I'm- I'm-' She paused, sniffling before shaking her head and trying to control herself. 'Can you please get Brit-' Santana paused, thinking that option over before shaking her head again '-get Quinn for me please, now.'

Blaine nodded wordlessly, moving towards the door and not giving any indication that he found it odd taking orders from an intern.

'Oh and by the way-' Santana called, and he turned to face her again. '-You need to stop being an ass to Kurt, otherwise I _will _go all Lima Heights on your ass, Resident or not. He's too good for you being a fucking prick all the time.' She told him firmly, before resuming her crying. Blaine just stood there, his heart leaping into his throat before he nodded, saying no more as he moved into the corridor.

He had someone to find.

**XXX**

Puck's been watching her all day, and despite how creepy that sounds, he's beginning to really _understand _her.

Or at least he thinks he does. She's harder to read than the fucking bible sometimes.

But she's been lurking around all day, everywhere, and he just doesn't _get _it. She's abnormally quiet, and reserved, and she's barely taking interest in surgeries.

He's _worried, _especially since it's all been happening ever since the results of the double pregnancy scare.

Puck sighs, watching her from where he's standing now- she's outside the nursery in the Peds department, just staring through the window at the newborns as they sleep, some with names, some without. He can't see her face from here, but he's going to. He moves forward to confront her, before she suddenly turns away, rushing down the hallway and out of sight.

He quickly follows after her, bewildered and not about to let her get away again. He picks up his pace as she exits the Peds department, before she turns left and into a store cupboard- the same store cupboard where he found her last time, the time they nearly...

He bursts in, not caring if it seems rude.

He hates how sissy he sounds thinking it, but she looks like a _song _as he finds her, sat on the floor with her knees hugged to her chest. She looks so _small, _and her face is unreadable as she doesn't even look up, her eyes glassy and fixed on bin across from her. She just looks so broken that it hurts.

Puck sighs and sits next to her, pausing before finally breaking the silence.

'So, are you gonna tell me what's up or am I gonna have to go ask Berry again?'

Quinn blinks once, then says in a quiet, dull voice- 'She doesn't know.'

'Okay, but _you _do, so I want you to tell me. I wanna help, Quinn.'

She says nothing, and he shakes his head, now staring at the same bin she's staring at.

'You know, if you were speaking to me right now, you'd ask me why I wanna help you so bad. You'd give me one of those bizarre, yet somehow hot eyebrow quirks that you always do, and you'd call me an egghead, or an idiot. You'd do that thing with your eyes, were you let your guard down for a fraction of a second, before you replace it with your expressionless face, like you have now.' He gently runs his thumb along her hand that's lying next to her on the floor, feeling the Goosebumps he leaves. He looks at her once more. 'I wish you'd do all that now. I miss that Quinn, the Quinn that I...just talk.'

He stares at her, and her eyes turn sad before she begins to whisper.

'I was only 16. 16 and way too young. Too young to make wise decisions, let alone raise a baby girl.'

Puck freezes next to her, and she gives a grimace, still not looking at him as she continues. 'He was a good guy, my boyfriend. It was the perfect relationship. He was the theatre stud, and I was the best singer in our class. I had feelings for him, but it wasn't love. But we gave eachother our hearts and somehow...I got pregnant.'

His thumb is still roaming her hand, but its slow, and slightly more shaky than before. 'He always said he was okay with it, that he'd be there for us both, but he had scholarships lined up, and I wanted a future. So I decided to give my baby up for adoption.'

'Her name was Isabelle, and she was _so, _so beautiful. She was so tiny, and perfect, and I just remember holding her in my arms and thinking- this is it. This is the last time I'll get to hold her, let her know that I love her.' Her voice broke slightly, and a tear ran down her cheek. 'The couple that adopted her were perfect, and I know she'll be happy, but...'

When she trailed off, Puck cleared this throat. 'Is that why- I mean you've been...'

'Kinda.' She nodded, sniffing to try and stop the flow of tears. 'I'm not saying that I wanted to try and _replace _Isabelle or anything, but I just thought...I don't know. Now really wasn't the right time to have a baby or anything, and it'd be unfair on you-'

'I wouldn't have minde-'

'-But I guess I just thought...maybe this time I could get it right.' She shrugged helplessly, looking miserable before turning to Puck, who looked back at her with sympathetic eyes.

'I...had no idea.' Puck shook his head, taking her hand in his without thinking about it as she nodded sadly.

'No one knows, not even Rachel. So you can't tell anyone.' She told him firmly, a hint of her old, alpha self showing in her voice.

'I won't, I promise.'

There was silence, before Quinn looked up at him again, tears still in her eyes. 'Can you stay with me for a bit? I can't go out there right now, not with Santana...' She trailed off, and he winced, understanding that a pregnant woman was not the type of person Quinn needed to be around right now.

'Yeah, sure.'

Quinn snuggled into him closer, until their legs were intertwined and he had his arms wrapped around her protectively. He leant his cheek on her hair as she closed her eyes, taking a shuddery breath before she relaxed into his warm embrace. She felt safe in his arms.

It was the safest she'd felt in a long time.

**XXX**

_I've had enough__  
><em>_Of this parade__  
><em>_I'm thinking of__  
><em>_The words to say_

It was close to midnight as Kurt left the hospital, his shift finally ending after a surprisingly action-packed day in surgery. He loved what he did, but now? He just wanted to get home and _sleep. _

Everything was making him miserable lately. And all because of some _stupid _resident that was a total ass to him.

A resident that he couldn't help be outstandingly attracted to, and made him feel all flustered whenever he saw him. A resident that gave him freaking _butterflies, _something that hadn't happened since high school and his handsome drama teacher patted him on the arm.

_We open up__  
><em>_Unfinished parts__  
><em>_Broken up__  
><em>_It's so mellow_

But he kept his head held high, he wouldn't let his feelings stand in the way of him being a good surgeon. He'd ignore _him, _and just help Santana, and help Rachel find out what was up with Quinn, and focus on everything else. Anything but-

'Kurt, wait up!'

_Crap._

There went the butterflies again. Kurt stopped mid-step, turning slowly to find none other than _Blaine _hurrying towards him, panting and his hair as beautifully tousled as it always was. He was wearing his normal clothes, that grey woollen jacket that he always wore making his eyes stand out in the light of the lamppost next to them.

_And when I see you then i know you will be next to me__  
><em>_And when I need you then I know you will be there with me_

'Hello.' He said carefully, his heart thudding in his chest as he tried to keep his cool. But Blaine was looking desperate, his brow furrowed as he stopped not too far away from Kurt.

'I'm sorry.' He finally said, and Kurt raised his eyebrows.

'For what exactly?'

'Being- well, being a complete and utter ass to you, when it was my problem not yours.'

'What problem? Listen Blaine, if you have a _problem _with me, just say so, because if you're gonna completely ignore me like you have been you might as well be professional about it and tell me what I'm doing wrong.'

Blaine shook his head, looking frustrated. 'No, you're not doing anything wrong. It's not-'

'It's not you its me? Classic. Listen if it was the kiss, I'm _sorry, _I told you I was drunk out of my head and it's not exactly my fault I can't handle my liquor-'

'It's not-'

'But you _owe _me the decency to at least tell me-'

'Kurt I'm-'

'-I just don't get what I did wrong and it's frustrating because-'

'Kurt!'

'What?'

_I'll never leave you_

Blaine had suddenly bounded forward, pressing his face firmly to Kurt's as he placed each hand on the side of the taller boys face, his lips eager and warm against Kurt's as the latter stumbled slightly, completely caught off guard as his heart basically jumped out of his chest and leaped into the air for joy. He put his hands on Blaine's shoulders, marvelling at how warm and strong the doctor was, a moan escaping his lips as Blaine pulled him tight against him before abruptly breaking it off, catching Kurt off guard yet again.

_Just need to get closer, closer__  
><em>_Lean on me now__  
><em>_Lean on me now_

Kurt stared at him, half in awe and half in confusion. Blaine's hazel eyes had warmed, and yet he still looked conflicted. Kurt kept his hands on his shoulders, Blaine's on his waist as he furrowed his brows.

'The only reason,' He began, his voice low and husky 'I've been such an ass to you is that that kiss at the party...I haven't been able to stop...I have feelings for you. And...they're so strong, and I shouldn't because you're an intern, but...I've never felt this way before.' Blaine struggled for words but looked up at Kurt, his eyes boring into his with determination. 'And I don't know what to do, or how to be around you without...without letting you know I feel that way. But now I guess you know, so...I mean, do you-'

'How could I not?' Kurt shook his head, murmuring as moved a bit closer to the slightly shorter boy. 'I just thought you hated me.'

'I couldn't.' Blaine shook his head adamantly.

'So...where does this leave us know?' Kurt questioned, uncertain.

Blaine paused, before a hesitant smile crept onto his face. 'I'm yours if you want me.'

It was Kurt's turn to smile now, his chest tightening in a good way as he tried not to jump up and down with joy. 'How could I not?' He repeated, before leaning in for another kiss.

_Closer, closer_

* * *

><p><em>Wow, so if my calculations are correct it's been exactly a month since I've updated! I'm sorry guys, but my schedules been pretty hectic, what with exams and all- exams that I've now finished, thank god! Luckily that means its just about summer for me, which means more updates hopefully =) <em>

_I hope you all liked what happened this chapter, there was a lot to fit in. I'd always planned to incorporate Quinn's pregnancy storyline _somehow, _even if she isn't the one that's pregnant (As a sidenote, I didn't call the baby Beth because it doesn't feel right, seeing as Puck came up with the name and all). As for who _was _pregnant, I hope you're all okay with that! I'm looking forward to writing pregnant Santana, and she's got a lot coming up, poor girl. Sorry to all that hoped that Quinn would be the pregnant one, but I thought that'd be a repetitive storyline, so I wanted to write something different. _

_Also, I really enjoyed writing Klaine this chapter, so I hope you liked it. Thank you so much for all the good lucks, and praise for this story, I'm so glad you all enjoy it- let me know what you think in a review! xo_


	10. I Shall Believe

**Chapter 9: I Shall Believe**

_"Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognising what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human." ~ _Meredith Grey

* * *

><p><em>It's empty in the valley of your heart<em>

_The sun, it rises slowly as you walk__  
><em>_Away from all the fears__  
><em>_And all the faults you've left behind_

Santana continued to turn, 360 degrees, observing all angles in the full length mirror in front of her. At barely three months, she was beginning to show ever so slightly, the bump visible as she stood in her underwear, but luckily just about covered in her normal clothes and scrubs.

She didn't know what she was going to _do _with the baby, let alone start telling people.

She placed a cautious hand on the tiny bump, rubbing her thumb in circles and frowning at her reflection. Of course she was well educated on pregnancy from medical school (and the fact that she was one of six siblings in her family), so she knew the baby was about 7cm long, possibly already swallowing and stuff. It made it all the more scary- especially since she still had a choice to make.

She'd visited the Peds department late one evening, and when she'd made sure that no-one was around, she'd quickly grabbed a few pregnancy and adoption brochures off the counter. They were now stacked under her bed, hidden from Quinn, and the other two who were desperately concerned for her.

And so they should be. She didn't know what the _hell _she was going to go, and she only had a certain amount of time to decide, but everyone found out...before _Brittany _found out.

It was strange, how fucking _nervous _Santana was about telling the blonde. Would she judge her? Would she see her differently? She honestly didn't know why she cared that much...it wasn't just the fact that the two had become so much closer in the past few months...or the look Brittany sometimes gave her when she thought the Latina wasn't looking...it was just- it was _Brittany. _Brittany.

She didn't know what to believe about anything anymore.

There were suddenly quiet footsteps by the door, and she turned to find Quinn, her hair piled on top of her head in a curly bun, observing her, a small sympathetic smirk on her face. Santana rolled her eyes, pulling on a slightly baggier t-shirt than normal and scoffing.

'Stop giving me that look!'

'What look?'

'You know what I'm on about- just because your skinny ass is staying skinny.' She murmured the last part sulkily under her breath, and Quinn laughed from the doorway.

'Cheer up, I'm taking you guys out for Chinese later, that should satisfy you for a bit.'

Santana made a small scoffing sound, but the idea _did _cheer her up a bit. She eyed Quinn, who was wearing a floaty lilac dress and a grinning face, suspiciously. 'Why are you so chipper today, huh?'

Quinn shrugged way too innocently, slowly retreating from the doorway. 'I just have a feeling things are looking up.' She turned her back and moved into the hallway, and Santana scowled playfully.

'Thanks for bragging about your awesome life, I'm feeling better now!' She shouted after her, and Quinn called back from the kitchen, still cheerful.

'Relax, you're pregnant, not homeless and washing your hair with drain water.'

**XXX**

_Cause I have other things to fill my time__  
><em>_You take what is yours and I'll take mine__  
><em>_Now let me at the truth__  
><em>_Which will refresh my broken mind__  
><em>

'Dr Hummel, would you mind coming with me to fill in some charts that you forgot to do yesterday morning?'

Blaine's tone was light and professional, but Kurt had to hold back a smirk as to not make the other interns, including Rachel, suspicious.

Kurt looked up at the resident, whose hair was still slightly damp from their morning shower (as far as his room-mates knew, he had been visiting his dad all weekend, but even they were starting to get suspicious), his face expressionless and questioning as he surveyed Kurt. The boy simply nodded, giving a small, hopefully professional smile.

'Of course, Dr Anderson.'

'Alright then. All of you, report to the rooms specified on your lab papers in about 15 minutes ready for morning rounds.' Blaine told them, snapping his binder shut and turning on his heel down the hallway. Kurt followed eagerly, feeling a thrill of excitement shoot up his spine.

He was still convinced he was dreaming. He was _dating _Blaine. Blaine. He couldn't believe his luck, that someone that he was head over heels with actually felt the same way.

They'd decided to keep it a secret for the time being- and to be quite honest, it just made it even more exciting. Especially at the possibility of being caught on occasions...

Once they got to one of the rooms, Kurt shut the door behind them and smirked. 'So, what charts am I supposed to be looking over today Doctor?' He asked lightly, and Blaine rolled his eyes, grinning.

'Shut up.' He murmured, before eagerly pushing Kurt into the wall, kissing him insistently before pulling away again. He gave a small smile, which Kurt returned.

'What do you say we make it official?'

Kurt raised an eyebrow. 'Make what official?'

'I mean like, go public. With us.' Blaine told him lightly, his tone turning serious as Kurt nodded thoughtfully.

'You know I'd be more than happy with that. While it's exciting sneaking around, it'd be nice to not have to see all the other doctors flirting with you all the time.' Kurt murmured, and Blaine chuckled.

'So it's agreed that we start telling people?'

Kurt grinned, nodding again. 'Sure- so... how are we gonna do it?'

**XXX**

_So tie me to a post and block my ears__  
><em>_I can see widows and orphans through my tears__  
><em>_I know my call despite my faults__  
><em>_And despite my growing fears_

'Okay, I've mobilised the two intestinal segments and stapled, so we should be done soon.' Brittany remarked happily, glancing up at the head of the 10 year old patient that was on the surgery table. Puck was in the corner, discussing something with one of the technicians, and he nodded in approval.

'37 minutes, not bad Brit.'

'Who said Peds wasn't hardcore?' Brittany asked teasingly, before grinning at Santana from across the table. The Latina felt her stomach twinge suddenly, and she gave a small smile back. There was something undeniably gorgeous about the way the blonde's blue eyes always sparkled from under her scrub cap.

Not that she noticed or anything.

'You're quiet, Santana- are you okay?' She asked, evidently concerned, and the others, including Sam looked at her quizzically.

Shaking herself out of her reverie about the blue eyes, it took a moment for Santana to realise that she _was _feeling a bit shaky, and her heart was thumping a bit fast. She ignored it though, guessing she'd just looked too into the smile Brittany had given her.

Again, not that she cared.

'Yeah, I'm fine thanks.'

Brittany nodded, still sceptical before quietly asking Sam to pass her a tool. It was as she began to discuss one of his previous surgeries with him that Santana suddenly felt winded, as if the air had been knocked out of her. She stumbled ever so slightly, her skin suddenly prickling as if on fire as her heart raced. She could vaguely see the others turning to her, but her vision was swimming. She could barely gather her thoughts together.

'Santana?' God, even Brittany's melodic voice was sounding fuzzy, as if she was at the end of a long tunnel.

All she knew is that she_ felt_ as if she was at the end of a long tunnel. She was zooming away from the light, her knees trembling as she gasped, everything slowly turning black...

There was barely a pause for breath as the six others in the room watched the Latina's knees crumple as she fell to the floor, completely still with her eyes dead shut. They all looked hurriedly at Dr Pierce, whose doe eyes were fixed on Santana, horrified.

'Santana! I can't-' She looked worriedly at the patient she was working on, not being able to leave her position with her hands still inside of the little girl's stomach. 'Somebody- Puck! Don't just stand there-' Her voice cracked slightly, barely being able to tear her eyes off of the motionless girl as Puck rushed forward, his eyes wide as he pushed Sam, who was moving towards Santana worriedly, aside.

'Santana, can you hear me?' He ask lowly, his tone laced with alarm as he gently pressed two fingers against her neck, feeling for a pulse.

'Puck?'

Puck paused, before answering Brittany's worried cry with: 'Heart rate's way too high, she's completely out of it- somebody get me a stretcher, now!'

Brittany watched as a few of the interns and nurses all rushed to pull the passed out girl onto a stretcher, tugging her scrub cap off and shining torches in her eyes. 'Puck- I wanna go with her, the patient's stable- if I go can you stay here and-'

'Brittany-'

'Please?' Brittany asked pleadingly, and Puck sighed before beckoning her to move so he could take her place.

As the blonde quickly moved forwards towards the stretcher that was being wheeled out of the door, Puck suddenly caught her by the elbow, looking hesitant and grim.

'Brit, she's about 12 weeks pregnant.' He murmured quietly in her ear, barely a whisper before he leant back, watching as her mouth fell into an o and her eyes become frightened. She glanced once at him before back at the stretcher, before tugging off her scrub cap and moving out the door swiftly, leaving Puck alone in the OR.

**XXX**

_So come out of your cave walking on your hands__  
><em>_And see the world hanging upside down__  
><em>_You can understand dependence__  
><em>_When you know the maker's hand_

'_She looks cold- doesn't she look cold? Maybe-'_

'_She's fine B, her vitals are looking good and her body temperature's back to normal. I'm gonna go ask the doctor how long it'll be before...'_

Santana could hear the voices, despite how heavy her head felt. She couldn't place _who_ the voices belonged to, but she knew they were there. She was beginning to get feeling back in her limbs too, and her toes twitches slightly as her head gradually become clearer, even though it was throbbing slightly.

'Santana?'

The voice was alert, and she could feel movement near her head, as if someone was right next to her. She groaned slightly, wanting to see who it was. But her eyes were so heavy..it'd be so much easier to just go back to sleep...

'Santana, it's Brittany, can you hear me?'

That did it.

Santana managed to force her eyelids apart, and she blinked rapidly as her eyes responded to the bright light of the hospital room, taking in the familiar setting and the face peering at her from the chair right next to her bed.

Brittany.

She was looking at her, her eyebrows raised questioningly with worry written all over her face.

Santana cleared her throat. 'Hey.'

Brittany gave a relieved laugh, grinning. 'Hey yourself.'

Santana suddenly realised that something warm was resting on her hand, and she looked down to see the blonde's slender hand placed over hers. Suddenly the hand was smoothly retracted, and she looked up to see Brittany looking sheepish as she gave an apologetic smile.

She already missed the hand's presence on hers.

'What happened?' Santana murmured, pieces of before whirring through her mind. Feeling nauseous, everyone's faces going fuzzy...darkness...and the pain- that split second of mind-numbing pain in her abdomen...

She wanted to voice her concerns, but Brittany had begun to talk. 'You passed out, in the OR. You probably remember that bit though. We ran some tests, and Puck thinks you went into shock. It's probably down to stress levels, your heart rate was through the roof..' She trailed off, and Santana nodded slowly, her eyes slowly travelling down to her abdomen, hidden beneath the crisp white sheets. Brittany followed her gaze, and sighed.

'The baby's fine, we ran tests for that too.' She told her lightly, and Santana's heart leapt into her throat, causing the machine's steady beeping to increase slightly.

She cleared her throat. 'Brittany, I-'

'It's okay. Puck told me when you collapsed, just in case you were...' She didn't finish the sentence, and Santana gripped the sheets a little harder, willing herself not to think of what could've happened. The pain in her stomach...

'Are you sure- I mean, are you completely sure that the baby's okay? It's not-'

'You're fine, Santana.' The blonde chuckled slightly, before her face turned uncharacteristically serious again. 'Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?' She questioned, looking wounded.

She gulped and blinked back a few tears that had sprung to her eyes. She shouldn't be lying in a hospital bed. She shouldn't be in this situation at all. 'I didn't want you to judge me, or think I'm sort of dumb whore that doesn't use protection. Which I did, by the way.' She added as an afterthought, and Brittany looked mildly relieved.

'You still should've told me though. I would've helped, I- I could never judge you, Santana. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, I promise.' She told her slowly, and Santana bit her lip, comforted. She took a deep breath, nodding as her heart rate returned to normal.

It was silent for a few moments, before Brittany spoke up again, her voice timid.

'So what are you gonna do with it? The baby?'

Santana watched her for a bit, the corners of her lips gently turning upwards as she remembered what Quinn had said, weeks ago when she was even more of a mess than she was now.

'_We're your family too.'_

She swallowed thickly, tentatively reaching down and placing a hand on her belly. It felt almost natural, _motherly. _

'_We're not going anywhere.'_

And just like that, she'd made her decision.

'I'm gonna keep it. The baby, I mean.' She told her firmly, new determination in her face as Brittany began to smile widely, taking her hand again.

Maybe Santana didn't have much faith in herself, but she sure as hell had faith in Brittany and Quinn.

**XXX**

_Cause I need freedom now__  
><em>_And I need to know how__  
><em>_To live my life as it's meant to be_

Quinn slowly brushed her hair in the hospital bathroom, watching as the waves cascaded over her shoulders. She'd freshly applied her make-up, and her eyes were bright and eager, almost like a child's. She had a nervous smile on her face, and she was still trying to control her shaking.

But she'd dressed in her favourite blue dress once she'd finished her shift, and now she just needed to find who she was looking for.

And hopefully, everything would be okay.

It didn't take too long to find him. He was standing in the place that she'd first seen him, on her first day- a nice little hallway that overlooked the outside of the hospital, now basked in the night time glow of the passing traffic and the streetlights. She stood watching him for a bit, as he remained perfectly still with his back turned to her, in his normal dark brown jacket and jeans.

After a few moments, he sighed and slowly turned, his face moody and dull before he caught sight of her and stopped walking. He stood staring for a split second, before his eyes lit up in surprise at the sight of her standing there, a huge grin on her face.

_And I will hold on hope__  
><em>_And I won't let you choke__  
><em>_On the noose around your neck_

'Hi.' Puck murmured dumbly, moving forward and looking suspicious as she smirked.

'I thought I'd find you here..' She told him, and he shrugged as they kept walking towards eachother, until they were only a few feet apart, the light from outside bright on their forms.

'I like the view.' He told her sheepishly, still looking a bit cautious. 'What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be going home, or checking on Santana..'

'Santana's fine, I've seen her and Brittany's looking after her now.' She cut him off, and he nodded in response, unsure of what to say. 'Plus, I wanted to ask you something before I go.'

He stared at her, frozen as she took a deep breath, before speaking slowly. 'I was wondering, if I could take up your earlier offer of going on a date sometime?'

Puck remained quiet, though a small smile was creeping on his face.

'Unless there was an expiry date on that offer, it has been quite a few months now.' She told him, her voice still light while her face remained soft.

'Of course not. And you're right...you waited quite a while to get back to me on it.' He told her teasingly, both of them now smirking as she bit her lip, glancing down before back up at him.

'Was I worth the wait?' She asked tentatively, her eyes turning vulnerable as he swallowed, completely sure of his answer.

'Most definitely.'

_And I'll find strength in pain__  
><em>_And I will change my ways_

She nodded, seemingly pleased with the response as she smiled again. 'So...it's a date?'

Puck nodded, his heart feeling a little too big for his chest, and a little too fluttery to be considered manly. 'It's a date. I'll try to get back to you quicker than you did, this time.' He added, raising an eyebrow as she chuckled slightly.

'Sounds perfect.' She assured him, before gently grabbing his arm and standing on tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek, giving him one last look and turning away.

He watched her walk off, still feeling unusually high as her blue dress flowed out behind her, a new spring in her step, and the street light highlighting her hair until it shone golden. 

_I'll know my name as it's called again_

* * *

><p><em>The end.<em>

_I'm kidding, of course. The story's far from over! Well, 4 or 5 chapters away...but that's if I don't do a sequel. But we'll get back to that later! Thank you so much to all the reviews, especially those that review every chapter, you guys are so great. It makes writing this even more fun, knowing that people enjoy it. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter...there's a lot of drama coming up, I warn you. Let's just call this chapter the calm before the storm.._

_I hope you're all liking the progress of the story. I know it's been pretty Santana-centric lately considering the title of this fic, but I promise there's a lot of Quinn (and Puck) coming up. Again, please review and let me know what you think! I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up, it's a big chapter (at least for me) so I want to make sure it's a good one! Until next time xo_

_Note: The lyrics in this chapter are from Mumford & Sons - The Cave. If you haven't heard it already, I recommend it highly._


	11. Set Fire to the Rain

**Chapter 10: Set Fire to the Rain**

**{Part 1}**

* * *

><p>As Doctors, we are taught not to fear death. To accept it as a part of life- or rather, the end of life.<p>

We are taught to brave the storm, to accept that it is our body's time to go. Our hearts' time to stop beating. Our muscles' time to stop moving, and our brains' time to stop co-ordinating responses in order to keep us alive.

But what if the storm is unanticipated, undesired?

What if we realise our life can't end, because we've barely been living in the first place?

What if it's not our time to die?

What if the choice is not in our hands?

**XXX**

_Suddenly Quinn felt alone, and knew she would be crying if she was above the water. She wanted to scream, wanted to wake up to find this was all a nightmare._

_And yet she couldn't. Because her vision was blurring, and her limbs were becoming numb. Her chest hurt, and her throat was raw from all the water. So much water. _

_The darkness was beginning to settle in._

**XXX**

3 HOURS EARLIER...

'_...Coming up, we have the latest news on the Hurricane that has produced what is thought to be the worst thunderstorms in almost 18 years-'_

'Lopez, turn that damn radio off, the only thing we need to be listening to is our pagers and other staff at Harper Grace.'

Santana rolled her eyes at Dr Jones comment as the latter hurried around the room, looking flustered and bad-tempered. The place was chaos, the thunderous rain outside clearly audible, even over the din of both staff and patient's families that were charging around the place. Nurses rushed to rooms with equipment, preparing for the night's events- the calm before the storm.

The hurricane alert in nearby states had come a few days earlier, but the storm warning for _theirs _had only been given about an hour ago. It was the worst in almost two decades, with half the roads shut off because of the damn thunder and rain, which certainly didn't make the hospital's job any easier.

But not hers, apparently.

'Okay, Dr Hudson you need to head to the ambulances where at least two are due, and take your interns from this morning with you- Dr Anderson, if I could _find _him is due there too...' Jones murmured through gritted teeth, and Santana noted that she'd hate to be Blaine right now.

As Finn rushed off with Sam and a few other interns, Santana moved towards Mercedes, mustering as much energy as she could despite the protruding baby bump beneath her scrubs. But hell was she ready, this was the kind of disaster emergency she was _made _for.

'Dr Jones you haven't told me where I'm headed yet.' She questioned breezily, sticking her hands in her lab coat pockets and stopping before the small doctor, who didn't look up from her clipboard.

'_That, _Lopez, is because you're not headed anywhere tonight.'

'Excuse me?' She rose her eyebrows, her tone heavy with disbelief.

'It is gonna be complete and utter chaos here tonight Lopez-'

'Which is why I should be doing something, I originally came here to be a trauma surgeon you know-'

'And your shift finished half an hour ago at 8:30pm-'

'So did half of the other guys here, and you've still paged basically all the fucking doctors-'

'And to be quite honest I don't think it's very good for a doctor to be thundering around here when she's 5 months pregnant.' Mercedes finished quietly, looking at her sternly as Santana deflated slightly, if that was possible with her ever-growing bump.

'That is totally unfair, my work hasn't changed at all since I got pregnant!'

'Exactly, and maybe it's about time it did, especially on a night like tonight. Listen Lopez, I'm fine for you to work your usual shifts, _as long _as you take the breaks we give you, and get rests when I tell you to! IE, tonight!'

Santana glared, furious. 'This is practically discrimination-'

'Trust me, I wish you could work too because the commotion around here is only gonna get worse and you're great at handling trauma and the Peds, but you just did a 22 hour shift and frankly you look exhausted and it's not good for the baby. So go home Lopez, I'm not changing my mind about this.' Mercedes ignored Santana's scoffing, making to walk away after giving her one last stern look.

'You know, if Brittany was here she'd let me work!' She called after, in a last futile attempt to persuade her.

'Well luckily she's on vacation to see her parents until tomorrow, so you'll just have to deal with her departure!'

Santana rolled her eyes, slamming the lab-book shut and beginning to move away. 'Fine! _Estoy _fucking _fuera, _then.' She muttered under her breath, about to go in the elevator before there was a yell from the other side of the room. Surprisingly, it was Dr Jones again, looking shocked and appalled as she stared into one of the on-call rooms.

Santana moved closer, almost laughing as Kurt rushed out behind Dr Jones, his hair messy with his face crimson. None other than Blaine emerged straight after, equally red but a little more composed, his hair also messy...

'What the _hell _is the meaning of this?' Dr Jones demanded, and people, including Rachel who had come to stand by Santana, began to watch as Kurt and Blaine looked down, looking ashamed, like two people caught-

'No way!' Santana suddenly exclaimed, letting out a bark of laughter as Dr Jones glared at her and Kurt looked at her dully. 'You guys are getting your mack on? 'Bout time.' She shrugged, and Rachel smirked while the others ignored her.

'Sorry Mer- Dr Jones.' Blaine murmured, fidgeting as Kurt remained mortified, trying to smooth down his hair.

'Listen, I don't know what the hell is going down with half the residents and half the interns in this hospital, but try a little less getting busy in on-call rooms and a little more _being- a- doctor!' _She shouted the last few words by hitting Blaine on the arm with her clipboard, before she stormed off, barking instructions at staff as she went.

Kurt and Blaine gave sheepish smiles at everyone else, before Santana caught Kurt's eye.

_Mazel Tov! _She mouthed, and he rolled his eyes before she went off, leaving him to peck Blaine on the cheek and walk away too.

**XXX**

'_Police have warned residents in the following areas not to travel unless they absolutely have to and are accompanied-'_

Quinn watched the roads ahead fretfully, barely being able to see through the windows of Puck's warm, and surprisingly cosy truck. He continued to drive, the windscreen wipers going crazy as the rain thundered down outside.

'Puck, maybe we should give up, we've been driving for ages and the roads are just getting worse, we're not gonna be able to make it to the restaurant.' She told him, looking at him sadly as he opened his mouth to disagree, before sighing and nodding.

'I know, you're right. It just sucks that we have such bad luck.' He chuckled slightly, and Quinn nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Ever since she'd agreed to go on a date with him, they'd spent the last couple of months trying and failing to find an appropriate time for both of them, their shifts making it almost impossible to spend time together. Nevertheless, it was going fairly well between the two- while they hadn't done anything spectacularly romantic together, they were on really good terms...it just sucked that they couldn't even go to a restaurant, on a first date.

'I know, but, we can find another time to go, this storm won't last forever.' Quinn reassured him, smiling and putting a hand on his shoulder as he drove into a side road in order to turn around. The traffic was horrible, everybody rushing to get home so as to not get stranded in the middle of the storm. Just as she spoke, there was a rumble of thunder from overhead, and she bit her lip. 'Or maybe it will.'

Puck laughed in response, and glanced at her appreciatively, his eyes lingering on her white dress and gold heels that made her look like a goddess, her hair curled and puck's jacket around her shoulders. He knew she'd look amazing in his clothes, especially considering how big the jacket was for her.

'You know what? We don't have to cancel the date. Finn's working so my apartment's empty. I'm thinking Pizza and a movie? Who needs the big screen?' He raised his eyebrows at her, seeing what she thought of the idea. Her face lit up, her smile widening as she moved slightly closer to him, both hearts fluttering at the contact.

'That sounds perfect.'

It was then that something suddenly vibrated in Puck's pocket, quickly followed by the same sound in Quinn's purse. He cursed under his breath, about to retrieve it as Quinn took her identical pager out of the purse, looking disappointed as she sighed.

'911 from the hospital, they want us both in because of the storm.' She murmured dejectedly, and Puck sighed deeply, looking annoyed.

'So much for that date.'

**XXX**

'_Hospitals have warned that the amount of casualties is rising, and police again remind residents to-'_

'Okay people, I know a lot of you are busy but it's all hands on deck tonight, meaning that _any _spare moment you have, even if it's just one tiny minute, you help with any patients or families that you can. It's gonna be tough, but as long as- oh, Dr Puckerman, Dr Fabray, nice of you to join us!' Dr Jones shouted over the rain, a binder above her head as she attempted to cover herself.

Puck rolled his eyes at the comment, taking Quinn's hand as they both hurried towards the group of doctors waiting at the ambulance bay, quickly giving a thankful Quinn an umbrella as Rachel handed her a coat to pull on over Puck's jacket (that he'd insisted she keep) and her dress.

'What have we got?' Puck asked, Finn raising his eyebrows teasingly and gesturing to Quinn as Puck flipped the bird back at him.

'Hotel roof collapse, at least 20 victims so far, coming in the next few ambulances.'

'Shit.' Sam murmured, and Puck nodded in agreement.

'My thoughts exactly. Do they all need surgery?'

Finn shrugged, looking solemn. 'We don't know yet, but if they do-'

'We're screwed, basically.' Puck finished for him, just as ambulances came rolling around the corner. Everyone rushed out into the run, wheeling patients, most unconscious, out into the rain and attempting to shelter them with large umbrellas.

'22 year old female, trapped on the stairs and bearing multiple bone fractures-'

'A 15 year old boy, his mom's following shortly, she tried to get him out but the roof collapsed just as-'

'Puck, take this one here to the trauma rooms immediately!' Dr Jones yelled, and Puck glanced at Quinn once before hurrying towards the patient and wheeling him out.

'Where's Santana, a kid trauma is her fucking speciality-'

'I sent her home.'

'Yo- You sent her _home?'_

As Puck and Dr Jones continued to wheel the patient off, arguing as they went, Blaine beckoned Quinn and Kurt forward towards an empty ambulance.

'Okay guys, you're headed to a 16 year old boy who was caught in a car-fire, treat him in the ambulance if his injuries are severe are enough but bring him back here and do most of the work.' He ordered them, and Kurt and Quinn nodded obediently as the ambulance doors shut behind them.

As it began to zoom off, Kurt raised his eyebrows at Quinn as if to say 'This'll be fun..', and she nodded, sighing and leaning back against the ambulance frame.

**XXX**

'_I'll never let go, Jack.'_

Santana rolled her eyes, shovelling more chocolate chip cookie ice cream into her mouth and grabbing the remote. It was the only half decent thing on Quinn's TV at the minute, but she was itching to turn the soppy stuff off right now. 'You just _did, _you miserable bitch.'

She was in such a bad mood, and this time she wasn't even sure it was her baby hormones to blame. She wanted to be in the hospital, amidst the chaos, not stuck at home feeling sorry for herself. However, the house _was _home to her- possibly even more so than her childhood home, seeing as her parents had been absent half of the time.

How did she get here? She had her friends, of course, and she loved them all to bits- some more than others, but she'd screwed up _so bad. _Here she was, single and pregnant.

She groaned slightly, putting the ice-cream down as she suddenly felt nauseous. It was then that there was a knock on the door, barely audible over the heavy rain outside.

Getting up, Santana glanced down at her big cashmere sweatshirt and grey sweatpants she was wearing and shrugged, not caring too much what she looked like. She didn't have the _energy _to. She moved towards the door, squinting at the silhouette outside. She couldn't make out who it was, and she felt her heart speed up slightly. Cautiously grabbing the door knob, she wrenched open the door, figuring that whoever it was, she was fucking ready to face them.

A rush of cold air hit her, along with the horrid roar of the wind and rain as she blinked, taking in the figure before her. Her scowl was replaced by a huge, embarrassingly excited grin, her eyes lighting up significantly.

'Brittany?'

Brittany stood there, her light smile on her face, and her eyes cheery as always. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail on top of her head, and- _god, _Santana was so fucking happy to see her after 2 weeks of her being away.

'What are you doing here?' She questioned in disbelief, quickly pulling the blonde inside. Brittany said nothing, just smiled and quickly pulled the Latina in for a hug, which Santana responded to automatically. She inhaled deeply, relieved by the familiar scent of Brittany, and the way the blonde's arms were securely wrapped around her. Noticing these thoughts, and others that were in her mind, Santana suddenly let go, overcome by a rush of emotions that weren't familiar at all.

'Look at you, you've gotten so big.' Brittany told her, but instead of being insulted, Santana just smiled- the blonde's eyes were filled with awe as she placed a hand on the bump, not uncertainty or judgement. She held her hands there as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and she ignored the way her heart fluttered slightly. 'I got back from my parents a few hours ago, and Puck told me that you were sent home, so I came here to keep you company.' She shrugged, and Santana grinned again.

'But won't you get in trouble? For not going to the hospital?'

Brittany shrugged again, not looking too worried. 'Puck says they should be fine, and he won't tell anyone- as far as the others know, I'm still in Indiana.'

She took Santana's hand lightly, again acting as if it was a habit and leading her gently to the couch.

'I _did _promise him, however, that I'd make sure that you'd get rest while you're here. I'm not allowed to take you clubbing or anything.' She added seriously, and Santana chuckled and rolled her eyes.

'What would be the point, I look like a whale so it's not like I'd be a hit at bars anyway..'

'Shut up, you're still completely hot.' Brittany told her, not looking at her and rather looking at the TV. Bizarrely, Santana felt her face heat up, and her skin prickled slightly as she cleared her throat.

Brittany wrinkled her nose, still watching the TV, where old-Rose was now recounting her experience to the others. 'Ergh, why are you watching this? It's sad, I always cry.'

Santana shrugged, still caught off guard by the comment. 'There was nothing else on.'

Brittany turned to her then, giving a small smile before pulling something out of her bag. She held up the DVD, causing Santana to raise an eyebrow at her choice.

'Good thing I brought Harry Potter then.'

**XXX**

It had taken a long time to get to the house fire, but once they were there it was pretty simple, even with the rain. The fire fighters had managed to get the boy, the only one injured, out and the fire under control, and Quinn, Kurt, and the ambulance driver Mick had gotten him into the ambulance.

It was then that it had gotten trickier, the boy, Zack, having dislocated his knee and begun yelling at the top of his voice, never ceasing. He was unaccompanied, his parents on a weekend trip and meeting them at the hospital, which made it even harder to control. Mick had suggested they sedate him, and luckily they'd managed to, though they kept a constant eye on the monitor to look out for any respiratory problems. Now they just had to sit as Mick attempted to battle through the rain.

'It's getting heavier out there.' Kurt remarked, glancing out of the front windscreen that they just about had a view of warily. 'No wonder you were called in. I just thought the date was going terrible so you had to call it a night.'

Quinn rolled her eyes at his smirk, hugging her knees to her chest, her coat still on over the jacket and dress- the heels she'd taken off at the hospital. 'We didn't even _get _to the restaurant.'

'Oh. _Oh.' _Kurt added, looking half impressed and half uncomfortable.

'No, not like tha- Mick? Are you okay?' Quinn suddenly caught off, having glanced at the man who was visibly shaking, his face pale.

'Wha- yeah, I'm fine, I just- think I'm coming down with a cold or something.' He sat up a bit straighter than, clearing his throat, and Quinn and Kurt turned back to eachother, Kurt looking slightly perplexed but shrugging it off.

It was silent for a few moments, before the increased beeping on the monitor caused the two doctors to sit up, suddenly alert as they watched Zack's heart rate increase incredibly, closely followed by the boy stirring, his eyelids gradually opening. Quinn froze, watching him as he blearily took in the ambulance ceiling, before groaning.

'He's awake..'

'You think?'

'Whereami..' Zack murmured blearily, his stirring becoming more alarming as he began to struggle. 'Where am I?'

'Zack, you're in an ambulance, you were caught in a fire but we're taking you to get help okay-'

Suddenly the ambulance lurched, veering left and causing Quinn to gasp and fall sideways, Kurt gripping onto the stretcher to keep the now panicking boy steady.

'Mick?' Quinn called out, and watched in horror, almost slow motion as the driver's hand fell of the steering wheel, his face paler than before as he slumped back in his seat, going still with the ambulance still moving at a terrifyingly unsteady pace.

It happened in barely 10 seconds. It was almost slow motion.

Kurt was trying to calm Zack, hurrying to sedate him again as he continuously glanced at Quinn, whose eyes were fixed on the driver in horror. Mick remained still, obviously passed out.

It felt like silence, the way her heart was thudding in her ears, blocking the rain out- blocking Kurt's questioning, and Zack's gradually quietening wailing.

But once the silence was over, Quinn was forced to go into action amidst the thunder- the storm outside.

'Mick!' She yelled, crawling forward as fast as she could towards the front seat, scrambling past all of the equipment that normally wouldn't have been such a problem. But now she was throwing it out of the way, tearing forwards towards the wheel as Kurt shouted behind her, still unaware of what exactly was happening, still trapped by Zack's side.

'Quinn! What are you-'

She could see a tree ahead- they weren't too far from it, all she needed to do was crawl a bit further and turn the wheel-

Quinn was a mere few feet away, and she lunged, grabbing the wheel and wildly turning it to the left in order to get to the road and avoid the tree. Her heart jumped into her throat as she watched the ambulance turn harshly, the brake lights burning into her eyes, before there was a massive creak and the wheel went wild, throwing her arms off it as she clutched the passenger seat behind her, tightly shutting her eyes and letting out a cry of shock at the force in which she was knocked back.

The ambulance was skidding, the terrible sound of the tyres against concrete mixing with her screams and Kurt's shrieks of horror. Zack had fallen silent amidst the chaos, sedated, and Mick still remained lifeless, out cold.

As she tried to block out the roaring in her ears while the ambulance continued to skid, Quinn slowly opened one eyelid, staring into the darkness illuminated by the lights from the vehicle.

Rain. Water. _So much _water. A small, weak looking barrier.

The barrier that was _supposed _to separate the road from the water.

Almost as soon as Quinn had realised what was going to happen, there was a deafening crash, and the sound of the ambulance skidding across the road was gone.

They were falling, equipment in the ambulance falling everywhere as Kurt yelled from behind her, and she was thrown to the side, her head hitting the side window with a sickening impact.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Quinn felt the ambulance crash into the river with a thunderous force, and as well as the whoosh of water that now flooded into the vehicle, her screams were unheard over the din of it.

As doctors, we are taught not to fear death. We are taught to brave the storm.

But what if the storm is unanticipated?

Because sometimes, our decision to live or to die, is not always in our hands.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

><p><em>So, that's the end of Part 1. The ambulance's fate, for now, is unknown.<em>

_Okay, so anybody that's read my story _Vengeance _may know that I love writing deathly disasters, as twisted as that is. So I've planned out these two chapters from the start. It was originally going to be just one, but seeing as the next one turned out to be around 7,000 words, I thought I'd be one of those evil writers that leaves a cliffhanger._

_No, I just needed more time to write the other half xD. I was super nervous and excited about writing this plotline, so I really, really hope you guys all enjoyed it and are kept in suspense. There's a lot more development in the next chapter, this was more like the calm before the storm (pun fully intended). It's a lot of angst and darkness, I warn you, but of course my dear friends Quick, Brittana and slightly Klaine have a lot of development. I just hope I don't disappoint._

_Thanks so much for those that stick with this story, and leave reviews! Please please let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm really nervous/excited to see what you think! xo_


	12. From a Whisper to a Scream

**Chapter 11: From a Whisper to a Scream**

_Losing love is like organ damage. It's like dying. The only difference is, death ends._

**{Part 2}**

* * *

><p>As Quinn felt the ambulance plunge into the river, she was thrown back with such force that the breath was knocked out of her, and she saw stars before she took in the situation, her eyes still stinging from the impact.<p>

From what could she see through the small view out the front window, they were deep underwater, the darkness of the water outside telling them that.

Except, the water _wasn't _outside anymore. Quinn could see it filtering in, and she yelped as it suddenly whooshed in from the door in which she was sitting in front, the surprisingly icy water pooling around her feet, that were bare because of the damn heels.

Breathing heavy, Quinn realised that they had to all get out of there, and they had to get out _now. _She turned to her right, where Kurt was in a similar situation, hastily trying to avoid the water that was filling the vehicle up fast as he continued to cry out, looking pale and frightened. She guessed she was in a similar state, and whimpered as the water rose higher.

'Quinn- we have- to get out!' He panted, blinking rapidly. He was attempting to unstrap a thankfully still sedated Zack from the stretcher, and it was only now, as she moved closer to help that she noticed the blood trickling down Kurt's cheek, from a dark patch above his right ear that was bleeding profusely.

'Kurt, y-you're-' She gasped, moving forwards in order to aid him, but he winced and moved back slightly.

'I know, I know- I hit my head- hard not to-' He said dryly, blinking a couple more times before insisting to her anxious face- 'I'm fine, honestly, we just need to-'

The two of them yelled out in shock at the lurch the ambulance suddenly gave, and Quinn raised herself higher, looking at Kurt with dread in her eyes, her whole body visibly shaking.

'Is- is the driver-?'

'Unconscious.' She replied gravely, glancing back at him. 'What are we gonna-'

'Go get him out, and I'll work on this-' Kurt gestured to Zack, who was still strapped to the stretcher, the accident having jammed the mechanisms and causing Kurt to struggle to free the boy.

'I'll help-' She told him firmly, but Kurt looked at her despairingly.

'No, Quinn, you need to get him out. I'll free Zack and meet you up there, I promise. He's stable for now.' Kurt continued his work, looking down in determination but becoming even paler. Quinn stared at him as the water continued to flood in, tears welling up in her ears as her head throbbed.

'What if you don't?' She asked fearfully, knowing they had to consider the worst scenario.

Kurt was silent for a moment, tears also welling up in his eyes. 'Then come back for Zack, and then come back for me.'

'Kurt-'

'Quinn, do as I say! _Go.' _Kurt demanded shakily, and Quinn took one last look at him, and the water rushing in before quickly touching his cheek with her hand, and wading to the front of the ambulance, where Mick was as motionless as before.

She slapped the driver's cheek lightly, trying to get some life into him. Sighing in frustration, she began to tug at the seatbelt, trying and failing to reach the button in order to release him. After a few whimpers of annoyance, she finally managed to reach it, quickly unravelling him from the seatbelt and pulling him forward, gripping the door with one hand and making sure she had her purse with her phone in before looking back in Kurt's direction.

'Kurt, I got him free, I have to-'

'I know, go, I'll be fine.' He told her shakily, and she nodded, willing herself to believe it. As she took a deep breath and prepared to move forward, he stopped her again, calling out.

'And Quinn- if...if I don't get out in time, if I don't...you know..' Quinn scrunched up her face and tried not to imagine that possibility, or how Kurt was looking right now. 'Tell Blaine that...tell him I'm sorry. And that I...' She heard him give a shuddery breath. 'Oh, he should know by now.'

She nodded, giving one last quiet whimper before turning away.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn closed her eyes, before opening them and staring out into the dark and swirling water. She looked down at the floor, where the water was continuing to rise, and shivered, preparing herself. Pulling Mick against her, and taking one last huge gulp of oxygen, Quinn gripped the opening to the side door and began to push.

She couldn't give up. 3 other lives hung in the balance if she did.

**XXX**

'Nobody's answering the phone in the ambulance.' Puck put the office phone down in frustration, not understanding what was wrong. Finn, however, seemed a bit more relaxed about the whole thing, and just gave him an amused glance.

'Y'know, if it was anyone _else _in that ambulance-'

Puck glared slightly, not in the mood for his best friend's humour. 'I would still be concerned.'

Finn raised his eyebrows higher, and Puck sighed almost dramatically and rolled his eyes. 'Fine! The fact that Quinn's there makes it a little more important, and- y'know what, that isn't even the point.'

'Then what is?' Finn questioned, and the pair began to walk down the hall on their way to scrub in for the OR.

'_The point,' _Puck emphasised, 'Is that they've been gone for nearly an hour and a half, and it definitely doesn't take that long to get the house, get the guy in the ambulance and drive back.'

Finn sighed as he looked at the slightly shorter man's determined expression. No matter what he said now, it wouldn't change the fact that Puck was worrying like hell about someone that he was very much in love with.

Even though Puck wouldn't admit his feelings and dismissed any conversation about it, Finn knew it was the truth.

'Fine, if you're not gonna help me-' Puck said, exasperated that Finn was joining his anxiety.

'Dude, you're making too big a deal of this. Have you seen the fucking storm out there? Of _course _it's gonna take them a little longer to get back-'

'But the phone-'

'Again, _look at the storm. _Their reception's probably down, and they're just doing their job and getting the patient here as quickly as possible.'

When Puck still looked annoyed, Finn clapped him on the shoulder, giving a weak smile. 'Listen, I know that isn't what you wanna hear, but Quinn is a capable woman, and she's with Kurt and Mick, in the ambulance on the way back here. I promise.'

**XXX**

As soon as Quinn had gripped the door handle, she shoved against it, pushing with all her energy to bust it open, with Mick gripped against her side.

If she hadn't been holding her breath, Quinn would've cried out. The water hit her almost painfully, the iciness of the water attacking her bare skin (she'd shed the blazer so as to not weigh her down, leaving her in nothing but her white dress) like knives- a million of them, piercing her skin and infiltrating through it like the layers were nothing but tissue paper.

But she leapt forward, into the open water before quickly forcing the door to close behind her, so as to not let too much more water into the ambulance. The fact that Kurt was still in there, with the patient tore at her heart strings, but she forced herself to keep moving. If she could just get Mick out of there, she could call for back up, and then go and get Kurt and Zack. She'd be fine. _They'd _be fine.

It was eerily quiet in the water, compared to the rush of the water in the ambulance, and the thunderous storm above the river. All she could hear was her heart, and slight creaking of the metal behind her. She glanced back, seeing that the ambulance was very near the bottom of the deep river, tilted slightly. Forcing her already burning eyes away, Quinn began to swim to the top.

She knew she would struggle, with the weight of Mick too, but the temperature of the water was unanticipated. She was practically trembling already, her face scrunched up with the combined effort of preserving oxygen, and attempting to swim to the top.

She could see the light from above...it was probably only a street light, but Quinn could only pray that it was a car, possibly one that had seen the accident and was getting help above. Or even better, another ambulance...

Suddenly her heart longed for that last possibility, and she thought of Rachel, Santana, Finn, Blaine- _Puck. _They had no idea she was here, that the ambulance was not safely back at the hospital, but trapped under the river.

She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Quinn abruptly broke to the surface, gasping at the sudden impact of the air, and the force of the rain still pelting down on her. She inhaled huge gulps of air, revelling in it and taking a moment or two to compose herself. She shuddered, glancing to make sure Mick was still okay- or as okay as he could be. He was still unconscious, much to her disappointment...she really needed someone with her right now...

With that thought in mind, Quinn panted and began to swim to the right, towards the bank- it didn't take her long, and she heaved Mick onto the scratchy surface. She glanced upwards towards the now broken bridge, whimpering at the fact that there was no vehicle light- not even a streetlight. No sign of life.

Before she could stop herself, Quinn stood up, the dress weighing her down as she shivered violently.

'Help! Anybody, please help us!' She yelled out over the storm, her voice strained as she continued with heaved breaths. 'Somebody-'

She glanced at the lifeless driver on the ground, suddenly noticing the purse lying next to him. She rushed to kneel beside him, quickly making sure his pulse was still there and positioning him in the recovery position, before grabbing the satin clutch and whipping out her phone. She almost felt giddy with relief when she turned it on to find it was still working, the last bar of signal still flickering.

The phone shook in her trembling hands, and her hair was sticking to her face, but she began to scroll through her contact list- 911 would be too mandatory, too slow- she needed someone that would never let her down...

Seeing the first reliable name on the alphabetical list, Quinn quickly hit the green call button, pressing the phone to her ear and looking wildly at the bridge.

'Please answer...please...'

**XXX**

'Aaaand suture!' Finn finished, looking proud of his job as the others around him- Blaine, Sam, and a few other interns, smirked, looking pleased at how quickly they'd gotten the complex surgery done. Considering that the hospital was in chaos right now, with patients continuously arriving and ORs being booked up, Finn was glad that Mercedes wouldn't have too many reasons to shout at him tonight.

'Okay, so once I've finished doing this, Megan and Amber can wheel Mr Furn up to the ICU to warm him up-'

He paused as one of the nurses entered the room, Finn's mobile phone in her hand. He flushed slightly, Blaine raising his eyebrows in amusement at her stern face and his embarrassed one.

'Sorry, I erm...I know I keep forgetting to turn it off...' He glanced at the phone, and the nurse shrugged.

'Somebody left a message, and you have 2 missed calls from Quinn Fabray. Should I-'

'Oh, Quinn!' He relaxed, relieved- maybe _now _Puck wouldn't worry so much. 'There was probably just a problem with the ambulance phone, put the message on speaker.'

A couple of interns began to leave the room in preparation in the ICU, and the nurse put the message on speaker, for only her, Finn, Blaine and Sam to hear.

'_Finn, please, please answer your phone right now. The one damn time you don't answer it in surgery, I know you always have it on...'_

Finn froze, anxiety flooding in to him and the voice on the phone. It was Quinn's, but...she was crying. He could hear her heaved breaths on the other end, could hear the rain over her face. He kept his eyes fixed on it, and listened intently to the crackly line as if his life depended on it.

'_You've gotta help me- i-it's the ambulance, the driver's unconscious and we fell, we crashed and fell into the river-' _

His heart thudded painfully, and he breathed a bit more heavily- he glanced at Sam, who looked as equally in shock. He felt frozen, simply listening to Quinn's increasingly hysterical voice- and _god, _he could practically see her face, see her tears-

'_Please. I got out, I got Mick out but he's unconscious, I dunno what's wrong with him and- Kurt's still in the ambulance, Finn, he's trying to get the patient out of the stretcher-'_

Two things happened on Kurt's name. Quinn's voice broke into sobs, and Finn looked at Blaine to see the man's face pale even more, his chest heaving up and down, his hands gripping the tray in his hands as his eyes remained fixed onto nothing in particular, staring into the distance.

'_I'm gonna go down there to get him, but I don't know how much longer I can last, I'm so...just please, help us, someone. Tell Puck- I dunno, just...we're at the Everode Bridge, in the middle. Mick's on the left of the bank, and I'm...I need to go get Kurt. Just- send someone, okay?'_

The message cut off after a few more shuddery breaths and the sound of thunder above, before there was silence left in the room. Finn felt nauseous, disbelieving of how this could all be happening. Blaine was in a similar situation, looking like he wanted to cry, and Sam looked like wanted to throw up.

Finn took a shaky breath, glancing down at the patient and staring straight ahead.

'Sam, take the patient to the ICU, I'll send another doctor up to see you. Blaine- we need to go find Puck. _Now._'

**XXX**

Santana adjusted herself on Brittany's shoulder, yawning quietly. The two had been watching the sixth (and in her opinion, not the best out of the lot) Harry Potter, after Brittany had enthusiastically pitched the idea to her. Had it been anyone else, Santana would've scoffed and gone on her blackberry while the blonde watched it, but seeing as it was Brittany...

It wasn't _that _bad she supposed. Plus, sometime after that witch in leather with the great hair had set the tall house surrounded by grass on fire, Brittany had snuggled closer, her face in a sad pout as she watched the family mourn over their lost house. Again, had it been anyone else, Santana would've rolled her eyes, but she just chuckled lowly and put her head on the blonde's shoulder.

Just to comfort her, of course.

She watched dully as the little sister (Jenny? Ginny? One of the two.) took Harry's hand, before swooping in on him and kissing him square on the lips. Brittany squealed then, beginning her standard 'aww's as Santana shifted up so she was looking at the girl.

'See, why do you 'aww'? I've never understood that relationship, it's totally random-'

'Well, maybe that's the beauty of it.' Brittany murmured, still smiling at the screen, where Jenny/Ginny had now broken away and disappeared.

'How so?'

'Well, Harry spent all of his life- well, his life at Hogwarts anyway- just seeing her as a friend, and nothing more. Maybe the message is to show us that, yeah, you can be great friends with someone, but one day, you might wake up and see them in a whole different light.'

By this point Brittany had turned to look at her as Santana remained transfixed, suddenly paying close attention to her face. Maybe it was because she'd only just realised that they were only inches apart, or maybe it was because only now she'd noticed the depth behind Brittany's blue eyes. The way they looked- as cliché as it sounded- straight fucking through her, and the way her lips were slightly parted.

It was as she looked at her lips that she realised the blonde was doing the same, looking at the latina's as the room suddenly got 10 degrees hotter. She could feel Brittany's breath on her face, could hear the Harry Potter music in the background- but even over that, she could feel her rapid heartbeat...she could barely breathe as she inhaled the scent of Brittany's lipgloss, the fruitiness growing more obvious as the lips loomed closer and closer to hers...

The kiss was cautious at first- slow, as if Brittany was testing the waters. But Santana was quick to deepen it, suddenly wondering- why hadn't they been doing this all along? Their lips moved together almost perfectly, and Brittany moaned slightly as Santana cupped the back of her head, immediately craving more. Almost as if the blonde was thinking the same, she had suddenly broken away, before lunging back at Santana and pulling her close, both growing more impatient as they craved more skin, more contact to unknot the frustration Santana felt for not having had kissed Brittany sooner, or heard her moan as she ran a hand up her thigh-

Santana suddenly broke away, her mind suddenly clearing of all the desire and _need _she'd felt kissing Brittany. She immediately felt guilty, as if she was cheating on someone.

And yet she wasn't. They were both single, and Brittany was sitting there, panting with that low cut top, her cheeks flushed and eyes dark, and _god..._she wanted to kiss her again.

But no- what was she doing? Yes, Brittany was gorgeous, and it had felt amazing to kiss her...but she was a girl...and Santana was straight...or so she thought...

'I erm- you-' She stuttered, and leant back a bit so she wasn't entangled with the blonde anymore. She needed to clear her head, and get away from Brittany's intoxicating scent. She tried to ignore the heat running through her body, and stood up. Brittany watched her, and she tried not to look directly in the blonde's eyes. 'You need to go.'

She wished she hadn't looked at Brittany's face as soon as she said it, because her eyes- crap, her eyes had gone devastatingly sad, and her face falling slightly as she nodded.

'Okay.' She said in a small voice, and Santana was surprised at how swiftly the woman got up, almost as if she knew it was best not to be around Santana right now.

They said no more, even though there was a million things running through her head right now, and she watched as Brittany picked up her bag, giving her one last fleeting, sad look and shutting the door behind her. She hadn't even taken the Harry Potter DVD out of the player.

Santana felt something shift within her as she swallowed and sit down. She had no idea what was going on with her, or why kissing Brittany had made her feel so much _more _than just lust, or desire...but she knew that Brittany's face as she told her to leave felt like a terrible punch in the gut.

**XXX**

It hadn't taken long for him and Finn to find Puck, who had been just coming out of an OR, looking frustrated- it'd taken longer to tell him the story, in-between Blaine's hysterical burst of speeches and Finn's stumbled telling of Quinn's call. It was pretty hard to do when Puck looked half like he wanted to kill them, and half in pure shock.

Blaine knew how he felt.

The guy had run off after that, pushing a few interns out of his way as he did so, and leaving Finn and Blaine to run after him. Once they found him, they'd gotten to the doors to the outside, where the ambulance bay was. Finn stopped him, all three panting.

'What're you doing, man? We've gotta get the-'

'I'm going myself.'

'Puck-'

'I am _not _waiting for _any _ambulance driver that will take any longer than me going outside there right now, getting in a vehicle and driving the fuck towards wherever Quinn and Kurt are at, alright?'

'Puck, you're not thinking straight-' Blaine tried to reason, even though he himself wasn't, his hands shaking violently as he put one on Puck's shoulder. Puck shrugged it off, turning on him instead.

'The hell I'm not! Quinn _and _Kurt are under a fucking river right now, possibly...' His voice suddenly cut off, and he swallowed thickly before looking back at him, his eyes slightly scary. 'I'm going to help her. _Now.'_

When Blaine continued to look at him disapprovingly, Finn watching both men cautiously, Puck sighed, his face turning a bit more vulnerable. 'It's _Kurt, _Blaine. I _know _you feel the same way about him as I do about Quinn.' His voice matched his face then, having barely admit his feelings for the blond aloud until then.

There was a pause, Puck breathing deeply before Blaine nodded and moved forward towards the doors, following Puck before Finn stopped them, calling from behind.

'Guys- I've...I've gotta stay.' He told them, wincing slightly. Puck nodded seriously.

'I know.'

Finn nodded aswell, sighing. 'But...be careful, okay? And help them.' Quinn was one of his closest friends, and Kurt was a great guy...he didn't want to see them seriously hurt either...and as for the people they'd be leaving behind...he didn't want to think about Puck and Blaine if...

'We will.' Puck assured him, before Blaine and him ran out into the rain, grunting as they hurried towards the nearest empty ambulance they could find. Just as Puck was about to wrench open the driver's door, Blaine stopped him.

'Whoa whoa whoa- _you _can't drive there, I thought we were getting-'

'Listen Anderson, I know you wanna get to Kurt, but if you keep stopping me I'm leaving you behind, got it?'

Blaine clenched his jaw, frustrated. He nodded anyway, getting into the passenger's seat and murmuring to himself as Puck began to drive at an alarming speed. 'Hijacking a fucking ambulance...I'm not sure why this even surprises me...'

But he pushed that thought aside. Right now they had to find Kurt and Quinn, and get them out of that river.

**XXX**

Quinn clawed at the water in front of her, only slightly relieved that she had no extra body to drag this time, and it was easier to swim downwards towards the ambulance than away from it. But the water seemed colder, if possible, and her dress clung to her and made it almost unbearable to swim without humungous effort. Her skin looked almost white in the water, and her mind was becoming gradually fuzzier with the breath she was slowly losing, but she forced herself on- she couldn't give up. Not with Kurt still in the ambulance.

As soon as she got to the ambulance, her heart sunk into her stomach- the door was open, and from what she could see from all the equipment floating out, the ambulance was completely fall of water. She swam forward, towards the back where Kurt-

Where Kurt _had _been.

Her eyes widening in panic, causing the water to burn them painfully, she looked around wildly, seeing nothing but equipment submerged in water. Even the equipment was gone.

But no- this had to be a good thing, right? Kurt must've gotten Zack out of the stretcher, and gotten out. Her mood lifted a fraction at that thought, and she gave the ambulance one last fleeting look before moving out of it again.

She'd barely started swimming upwards when she caught sight of movement to her right- her heart sunk again. Zack, still half-strapped into his stretcher, was lying at the bottom of the river, motionless and pale as a ghost. She swam quickly towards him, looking around frantically as she did so- where the hell was Kurt? He wouldn't have just left the patient...but he was nowhere...

She frowned at the blood that stained the straps on the stretcher, but continued trying to pry them apart. The buckle had been dented, causing it to trap the material in the socket. Quinn tried to muster all of her strength, and she gave a frustrated kick mid-water as the material didn't budge.

Panic began to set in then. She was running out of air, and she _needed _to get Zack out and find Kurt. She couldn't leave. She wouldn't. She was a doctor, for god's sake.

With one last will of determination, Quinn gave a last despairing tug on the straps, watching in relief as the bounds came free, causing Zack to float slightly into the water. Hurriedly grabbing him, Quinn began to swim upwards again, her arms aching and her legs feeling numb...she just had to keep going...

Suddenly she began to see stars, and her face scrunched up with the effort of holding her breath. But that was the thing. She _had _no oxygen left.

Almost involuntarily, she let the breath go, causing bubbles to flood in front of her face as water flooded into her mouth, choking her as she gasped, as if for air. Swimming even harder, Quinn felt her vision get fuzzier, and horror set in. She wasn't getting to the surface faster. She was going slower.

She glanced at Zack, whose arm was slung over her shoulder. She'd promised she'd get him out here. She'd promised she'd come back for Kurt.

But she did come back. Now for her other promise...

Quinn took the boy's arm away, and pushed him upwards with all her might, watching as he began to float dully towards the surface of the water. As her arms gave a painful cramp, exhausted from all her swimming and pulling, she knew it was the best she could do.

As she watched his body continue away, she paused, still in the water as realisation hit her. It felt almost tranquil, peaceful, as she realised what was happening.

It hit her as painfully as the water had, all that time ago (minutes? Hours? She had no idea) in the ambulance- she was dying. Drowning. She couldn't swim anymore, she couldn't get to Kurt, she couldn't- she just _couldn't. _

She looked upwards- she couldn't see Zack anymore, but she knew that at least he would be okay.

Kurt would be okay.

Rachel, Santana and her baby would be okay. As would Finn, Blaine, Brittany, Sam, her mom, her sister, Isabelle, and everyone else she cared about.

She didn't want to think about Puck yet. She didn't want to think about how he would yell at her for giving up. Or how they never went on a date.

She wanted to save the memory of him, and all the times they'd had, for her last moments. She wanted her last memory, as she closed her eyes, to be the way his lips had felt against hers, how safe she felt in his arms.

She'd save that, even if she couldn't save herself.

But it was happening now, she didn't have much longer to save them. Suddenly she felt alone, and knew she would be crying if she was above the water. She wanted to scream, wanted to wake up to find this was all a nightmare.

And yet she couldn't. Because her vision was blurring, and her limbs were becoming numb. Her chest hurt, and her throat was raw from all the water. _So much water. _

And finally, the darkness was begin to settling in.

She'd be brave, she'd accept her death. Everyone else was okay- she'd done her best.

She had her saved memory with her. _Puck._

And with that thought in mind, Quinn succumbed to the darkness.

**XXX**

'Puck, slow down.'

'...'

'Puck I'm serious-'

The ambulance they were driving suddenly made a u-turn, and Blaine turned to look at Puck, whose face was deadpan with his jaw clenched, and gave him a horrified look.

'The fuck man? Are you _trying _to get us killed before we even get to the bridge?'

'I made a wrong turning, you distracted me...we're nearly there anyway...' Puck murmured lowly, and Blaine sat back, not bothering to say anything else. He wanted to get there just as much as Puck did, but...he also didn't want to die in the process.

He had no idea what the fuck they were gonna do when they got to the bridge, but all he knew was that Kurt needed his help, and he'd be there to make sure he was okay.

Maybe it would be okay, anyway. Maybe Quinn had gotten them all out, and they were waiting by the roadside.

Suddenly Blaine caught sight of a signpost, and sat up abruptly.

'We're there! It's the bridge, keep driving-'

Puck sped up, suddenly going at an alarming rate as they sped down the bridge.

'Puck-' He shouted over the engine and the continuous rain, watching the road warily. 'Oh that's great, let's just join them in the river!' He spat as the ambulance skidded to a halt right by the edge of the river, mid bridge like the call had said. He shivered as he remembered Quinn's voice, but was pulled out of the memory by Puck slamming the door behind him.

Puck slammed the door behind him, barely noticing the cold rain that pelted down on him as Blaine got out of the vehicle behind him. He stared down into the water, going to the edge of the broken bridge and swallowing thickly.

His mind raced as he felt the broken metal with the tip of his shoes, thinking of how it must've happened. In his mind, he could see the ambulance losing control. He could see the pair inside bracing themselves, maybe screaming with fright as the vehicle fell into the river. He remembered, with terrifying detail, Quinn's voice on the message that Finn had played for him.

It took Puck a minute to realise that he was taking shuddery breaths, swallowing the nausea he felt. He ignored Blaine, who was standing beside him, looking equally frustrated. It suddenly occurred to him that they hadn't discussed what they were going to do once they got to the bridge- but every moment that they waited, Quinn was down there...he couldn't see her anywhere...his heart lurched at the thought.

'Puck!' Blaine suddenly shouted frantically, grabbing him and pointing to the edge of the bank. A body was lying there, face down and in a dark ambulance jacket- the driver, from what he could see.

'Okay, I'm going in-' Puck began to take off his jacket, before Blaine stopped him, his face pale.

'Whoa, wait- do you swim?'

'What?'

'Are you a good swimmer?'

Puck paused, before shrugging. 'Who cares?' He questioned fiercely, before bounding forward. Blaine stopped him, again, and Puck stared daggers at him. They were best friends, but he swore to God if he kept stopping him...

'_I _care, seeing as my boyfriend's down there and if you go his life is in your hands!' Blaine yelled, and Puck's shoulders slouched slightly. 'I'll go first, I'm a good swimmer. You get Mick and get him in the ambulance.'

'Blaine-'

'Go!' Blaine shouted, taking off his jumper so he was left in a t-shirt. He shuddered, and Puck watched as he took a deep, terrified breath, before running to the edge of the broken bridge and throwing himself over the edge, falling until he hit the water. You could barely hear the splash over the storm.

As the shorted man disappeared under the water, Puck ran down the side of the bank, his heart pounding in his ears. _Please find them...Please find them..._

He was in autopilot as he reached the driver, silently checking that there was still a pulse- a steady one, thankfully- before beginning to heave him up the bank, continuously checking over his shoulder to look back at the water, where Blaine remained disappeared.

There was suddenly movement- silent movement- in the water when Puck was halfway to the top of the bridge, and he almost dropped the man he was carrying in shock. He could see a figure, his head bobbing up and down as he floated through the water.

Almost quicker than he could humanely manage, Puck rushed to carry the driver into the ambulance, before pelting down the side of the bank, slipping and sliding as he went. It wasn't until he got closer, and the figure slowly drifted by the edge of the grass, that he didn't see the blonde hair he longed for, but a motionless boy- _that _must be the patient.

Once both were safely in the ambulance, Puck ran out to the edge again, almost itching to jump in. Quinn's sobs kept replaying in his ears, so much that he had to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, willing it away. If he kept thinking about it, it would drive him crazy, and he would want to go in after Blaine.

But no, he couldn't. What use was it, both of them being down there? Besides, if Blaine needed his help, he would come to the surface and ask...still, he'd been gone a while...

Almost as soon as he'd thought of his concern, the man's head suddenly broke the surface of the water, gasping and spluttering- _and carrying someone. _

'Puck!' Blaine yelled, his voice hoarse as Puck gripped the edge of the bridge, staring into the dark water. 'I've got Kurt! H-he's alive, he's just unconscious, I need to get him out-'

It was _terrible, _horrifying the way Puck's heart sank slightly at those words. He was fucking relieved that Blaine had saved the boy, but...part of him longed for Blaine to have gotten Quinn out, so he could know she was okay. Which triggered another thought.

'Blaine, where's Quinn? I've got Mick and the patient, where's-'

'I can't find her! She's not-'

Puck felt something constrict in his chest. 'What do you mean, can't find her? She's _in _there...'

Blaine had gotten to the bank of the water, cradling Kurt in his arms as Puck made his mind up on the spot. It was his turn now. Taking his jacket off so he was just in a shirt and trousers from the earlier date, Puck took in a lungful of air before diving into the river.

It fucking _hurt, _as he cut the water, but he luckily had enough strength to swim fast, staring around wildly in the freezing cold water, for a glimpse, just a sign of Quinn.

He only had to swim a bit deeper to find that sign.

Puck was a doctor, and so he knew it was pretty unlikely for your heart to just _stop _beating for moments at a time.

But that was before he caught sight of Quinn, at the bottom of the river, motionless and almost as white as the dress that billowed out around her, he could've changed his mind easily.

He swam as fast as he could possibly go, ignoring the way his clothes dragged him down and the way he was barely focusing on maintaining oxygen. All he cared about was how Quinn was unconscious, her eyes closed with a peaceful expression on her face. Almost as if...

Quickly scooping her into his arms, he held her close, as if somehow he could restore her warmth even if they were both in the water together. His heart felt tight, and he was beginning to lose breath. As soon as he broke to the surface, he coughed and spluttered, looking at Quinn desperately as her eyes remained shut, her head lulling backwards slightly and her mouth parting.

'Come on Quinn, wake up.' He gently slapped her cheek, trying to wake her as he began to swim to the bank. He could hear Blaine yelling, but ignored him, instead focusing on the girl not breathing in his arms.

'For god's sake _breathe...' _He began to shake her slightly, feeling nauseous at the way her lips were pale...he prayed that it was just the trick of the light that her milky skin had an ever so slight blue tint to it...

The rain was beginning to finally slow as Puck carried her bridal style up the bank, his whole body aching with both exhaustion and sheer panic.

He took a glance at Blaine, soaked to the skin as he ran out of the ambulance towards him, looking terrified.

'Is Kurt-' Puck asked gruffly, and Blaine nodded, sighing as he glanced back at the ambulance, squinting.

'He's alright for now. I've warmed him up, he's just unconscious but stable...Puck what are you..?'

Puck had laid the blonde on the ground, before running to the ambulance and grabbing anything remotely warm or soft looking- his drying jacket, blankets- before laying them underneath Quinn, wrapping the jacket around her shoulders.

'I don't want her to be cold.' He murmured, and it was only now he realised his voice was shaking, just like his hands as he began CPR, Blaine lurking above them nervously.

'Puck, we should take her to the hospital...'

Puck pressed his lips against Quinn's, hating how unresponsive she was, how cold her soft lips were. He looked at her face, and marvelled at how only she could still look like an angel after what she'd been through.

'Come on babe.' He whined, pressing harder and ignoring Blaine altogether now. 'Open your eyes.'

Moments passed. Blaine had fallen silent now, Puck's chest heaving as he tried to get a sign of life, any response from her at all. He squeezed her hand momentarily, willing her to squeeze it back. He wanted to see her eyes again. See her green eyes, full of life and staring up at him. She always smiled with her eyes when she was truly happy. He wanted to see that again.

'Quinn, for _fuck _sake, wake up.' He growled next to her ear, before cupping her cheek and passing her oxygen again, gasping as he pulled away. 'Come _on.'_

'Puck-'

'I can do it Blaine, just shut the hell up and...'

But Puck was growing desperate, his arms beginning to ache even more as he performed the CPR, staring pleadingly at the blonde as the rain drowned them both, her drenched hair, formerly in curls spread around her like a halo. He was shaking violently, his heart clenching as he continued.

'Quinn, _fight _for god's sake!'

'Puck-'

'You don't give up!' He shouted, still doing the CPR as he stared, almost angrily at the girl on the ground. 'You're Quinn Fabray, you can't...'

As he pulled away from her lips again, he pressed his nose against her cheek momentarily, inhaling what remained of her scent. 'Don't you dare leave me.'

_We haven't even had our first date yet._

'Come back, babe.' Puck's shoulders heaved up and down as he pressed once more on her chest, forcing his lips against hers as Blaine finally stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'Puck...she's...' His voice was wavering, as if he was in tears. But Puck ignored him, his lips lingering on hers as a small sob escaped his throat. And he didn't cry, _ever. _

But Quinn was remaining cold, still and lifeless in his arms. She wasn't going to open her eyes. He wasn't going to see them flash dangerously when she was angry, or flutter her eyelashes when she was feeling flustered. He wouldn't see her blush again, the pink colour highlighting her pale skin as she would bite her lip, embarrassed about something.

Puck dragged his head down past her neck so it was resting on her chest. Her _heart. _Did she know that she kept his with hers? If hers was gone, then his was too...

_He never told her._

'Please.' He murmured against the dress, wrapping his arms around her torso. She wasn't gone. She couldn't be. There couldn't be that much cruelty in the world, that much _hatred _to take her away from him like this. To rip out someone's heart, and shatter it into a million devastated pieces.

There was so much he wanted to tell her. So much they hadn't done together yet...they hadn't even been on their _date..._

He'd never gotten to say goodbye.

His shoulders heaved with silent sobs, the rain pouring down overhead as he clung to her body. He'd stay here forever if he had to, just to be with her and shield her from the seemingly everlasting storm.

It was either seconds, or minutes, or hours later that he suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye. He cracked open an eyelid, watching the bracelet on her wrist that he _swore _he'd just seen move, almost as if.

He heard Blaine gasp behind him, and Puck's head flew up suddenly, his heart lurching painfully as adrenaline rushed through him. _Her hand moved. _

It was barely a centimetre, but her fingers had flexed, and Puck was suddenly overcome by relief, going back to the CPR. He wasn't going down without a fight.

'Come on!' He yelled, his voice hoarse with tears as Quinn, formerly lifeless and still, suddenly spluttered, water shooting out of her mouth as her head tilted up, gasping and coughing as Puck let out a yell of shock and pure joy, quickly moving forward as her eyes opened slightly.

'Quinn it's okay-' She was still spluttering and coughing up water, but he pulled her into his arms anyway, feeling faint as the relief washed through him, his panic over as he thanked God that she was _alright, _her fingers suddenly clinging onto his shirt as he hushed her.

'I've got you, I've- just breathe, babe...' He murmured, and she did so, her face scrunched up in either pain or tears as she pulled him close, her eyes squeezed shut as she shuddered. He didn't blame her for not saying anything.

He could feel her steady heartbeat against his chest, could feel her safe and _breathing _in his arms as he attempted to shelter her from the rain. She wasn't dead.

She was here with him, and that was all that mattered as they sat on the edge of the bridge, the rain beginning to slow as the storm began to gradually come to a close.

* * *

><p><em>You'd think I'd feel awful writing this chapter and having her so close to dying, but I just really hope you guys enjoyed it...in a non-twisted way. It's the longest chapter so far, possibly the longest in this story (apart from, possibly, the unwritten finale), so I hope it didn't disappoint. Wanna ease my anxiety? Leave me a review, let me know what you think! Please? :) Thanks so much to everyone that has so far, you guys are so great. <em>

_We have 3 (or possibly 4, depending on how long the last one is) chapters left of this, so prepare to see a LOT of development, good or bad. Especially for Quick (If this comes as a shock to you though, you're reading the wrong story.) and Brittana. I like to keep Klaine in a happy, honeymoon, rainbows and kittens kinda stage- forever. As for finchel...while I know I said at the beginning of the story that they'd be together in the end, for reasons that I won't bore you with here, Rachel's love life status at the end of this story is undetermined, at the minute. I'm still debating over it. _

_(That's partly because I'm wondering what direction her life will be going in...because there may or may not be a sequel to this. Just sayin'.)_

_On a side note, check me out on Tumblr! My name's _**wild-blessed-freedom **:) _Please review! xo_


	13. The Desperate Kingdom of Love

**Chapter 12: The Desperate Kingdom of Love**

_"And then I go and spoil it all, by saying something stupid like I love you."_

* * *

><p>Quinn closed her eyes as she laid back against the surprisingly soft hospital pillow, desperate for some sleep yet unable to clear her mind. She knew that all she needed to do was ask Finn, the doctor on her 'case' (it wasn't much of a case, as she'd told them she was <em>fine) <em>to sedate her, but she knew that if she did everyone would make a huge fuss of it.

She sighed, happy with the silence until there was a footsteps by the door. She heard them pause, and opened her eyes to see who it was.

'Hey Rach.' She spoke softly, giving a small smile as she turned to face the brunette.

Rachel stood by the doorway, seemingly unsure of whether to come in or not. It was the first time Quinn had seen her since she'd woken up, and just seeing her best friend made her heart warm slightly. Or maybe it was just the drugs.

The woman at the door gave a small sniff, and her face, without warning, suddenly scrunched up as though she was in pain.

'What-'

Rachel bounded forward, abruptly bursting into tears as she grabbed Quinn into a hug, her shoulders shaking as Quinn laughed, unable to help herself. She couldn't help but relax into Rachel's hug.

'I- you were- I just-'

She chuckled again, and Rachel pulled back, tears on her face as she pouted, furrowing her brows in worry.

'Rachel Barbara Berry, wipe those tears off your face. I'm _fine._' She murmured, squeezing her friend's hand.

'I've- I've been so scared. I thought I was gonna lose you. We all did.'

Quinn nodded, feel somewhat ashamed- not that she had _chosen _to...okay, maybe she _had _given up in the end but...

Her mind momentarily flashed back to the water, her screams and the rush of water in the ambulance taking over her senses for a moment before Rachel's hand in hers brought her back to the present.

'I wasn't- I mean, once I was back, I was fine. Just asleep.' Quinn assured her, trying to look confident in herself as Rachel frowned.

'It was touch and go for a while though. We didn't know if you were gonna wake up...it was bad, Quinn.'

Again, she nodded, having heard what had happened through Finn and Mercedes. Apparently she'd suffered from pneumonia and respiratory failure after being in the water for so long- not to mention the exhaustion and possible head trauma from both swimming and the ambulance crashing.

'But I'm here now, and i'm okay.' She told her shakily, and Rachel's bottom lip wobbled slightly.

'I know, but-'She looked impatient, and Quinn squeezed her hand again. 'You don't know what it was like. I didn't know if my best friend was gonna die, if I'd ever see you again-'She trailed off, crying again, and Quinn sniffed, suddenly realising what she'd meant. 'Santana was a mess too. The others had to make sure she rested, just in case she stressed the baby.'

'Yeah, Finn said I could see her later.' She'd only woken up about 45 minutes ago, and Finn had only just finished running tests, so there were a lot of people she wanted to see...

'Noah's been going crazy, y'know.' Rachel told her lightly, and Quinn fidgeted slightly. 'He wouldn't sleep, he just stayed here so- we err, had to slip sleeping pills into his soda.' She gave a chuckle at Quinn's incredulous laugh, before quickly adding 'Blaine assured us it was for the best, so he's in an on call right now. He'll probably go mental when he wakes up and finds out what we did, but I'm sure he'll be in to see you later.'

Quinn remained silent at that, remembering when she'd finally woken up, finally managed to open her eyelids. How good it had felt to _breathe _in fresh lungfuls of air, and how Puck had held on to her until he'd been forced to let go by the other doctors. She remembered being assured Kurt was okay, and being taken on a stretcher, barely awake, through the hospital, where Rachel, Santana, Finn, Puck had fussed over her incessantly until Mercedes had barked at them to move. It was then she'd fallen unconscious again, causing everyone to panic, apparently.

Rachel began to tell her about everyone else, and what she'd missed while she'd been unconscious for the past 36 hours.

Kurt was doing fine- _he _at least had been let out of bed rest, having only gotten a very mild head trauma. From what he'd told Blaine (who rarely strayed from the man's side now that they had gone public and he had come so close to losing Kurt), he'd attempted to carry the stretcher out of the water, but had failed halfway when his head wound kicked in, and exhaustion had taken over. Luckily, Blaine had gotten him in the nick of time, and for that, Quinn was thankful.

Mick was undergoing tests to find what had caused him to collapse in the first place, but he too was okay. Zack was stable, but tentatively so, though Finn had assured them that it wasn't purely the water that had caused it, just the house fire beforehand. Quinn was relieved to hear about that too.

'You were great in the water, from what I hear.' Rachel spoke softly, finally looking a bit more calm, her eyes less teary and red-rimmed. 'You tried to save them all.'

'And failed.' Quinn gave a short laugh, staring dully out the window. The storm had blown over fairly quickly, ironically, once they were out of danger. Typical. It had been replaced by crisp autumn air and small bursts of sunshine.

Rachel rolled her eyes. 'I knew you'd say that. But you still did so much more than many would have done, Quinn.'

'I gave up, Rach. I-' She swallowed- the guilt had been eating her alive, which was probably one of the reasons Finn was still keeping her hear, noting the stress she still felt. '-I could've gotten Zack out. I just had to _swim _a bit more-'

'Okay, you need to remember something Quinn.' Rachel stopped her, sitting on the bed next to her and grabbing her hand again. 'You're only human. Just because you're a doctor doesn't make you superman. Plus, this wasn't swim practice, you were just in an accident for god's sakes! Don't be so hard on yourself.'

Something about the firm tone Rachel said it in made Quinn feel a bit better, and she nodded, relaxing her shoulders slightly. It was only now, in the silence that Quinn noticed Rachel was looking nervous about something, repeatedly opening her mouth to say something before closing it again, shaking her head.

'Hey.' She tried to catch the brunette's eye, and she looked up. 'You okay? You seem nervous about something other than me being in a hospital bed.'

Rachel bit her lip, smoothing her hair and tucking it behind her ears like she always did when agitated. 'It's nothing. You need rest, I shouldn't-'

Quinn rolled her eyes, exasperated. 'Quit babying me, I'm _fine. _I'll recite a whole surgery procedure like I had to for Finn's stupid tests earlier if it'll ease your mind-'

'No, no, that won't be necessary.'

'Okay. Then...'

There was a pause, before Rachel spoke again, looking tentative. 'What would you do, if you got a really good job offer? Like...one that's better than the one you have, even if the one you already have is pretty good already?'

Quinn was taken aback for a moment, before she gave a small smile. 'You got a job offer?'

She nodded. 'Yeah- it's at this amazing, _amazing _place in Boston, you'll have probably heard of it, and they've offered me a place on their course. It's just-' She looked in awe as she spoke of it, carried away by the idea. Quinn felt something twinge inside of her, but she kept a supportive smile on her face.

'I...would take it. It sounds like it really makes you happy.'

Rachel looked at her sadly, her excitement gone. 'Really?'

'You're an amazing surgeon, Rach. And if somewhere equally amazing has offered you a place with them? You should take it.' She told her quietly, trying to not let her friend see how much it saddened her to say this.

She saw through it anyway though, and her frown deepened. 'But...I'll have to leave here. Everyone. _You.'_

Quinn nodded, her voice feeling shaky as she replied. 'I know.'

It settled in then- Rachel had only told her a moment ago, but the decision seemed to have been made as soon as she'd done so. Rachel's bottom lip quivered yet again, and Quinn bit hers to stop herself from crying.

'I'm gonna miss you.'

Quinn sniffed- _damnit, _Rachel crying was just setting her off now. 'I know that too.'

Rachel leant in to hug her, and Quinn clung on, letting a tear or two fall. Maybe it was just her fragile and drugged up state, but it pretty much felt like the end of the world. They'd been with eachother at this hospital from day one, even through the fights. And now if she left...

'I hate Boston for taking my best friend away.' Quinn murmured, and Rachel laughed loudly, squeezing her before pulling away.

'What about Finn?' Quinn questioned softly, and Rachel's eyes steeled over slightly before looking down.

'What _about _Finn?'

'Have you told him about the offer?'

She shook her head, frowning yet again. 'No. I'll- I'll tell him another day. Not today.'

She wiped a tear off Quinn's cheek then, and the blonde closed her eyes, sighing. Exhaustion and general sadness was beginning to take over, and Rachel got up, obviously wanting to let her sleep. 'Telling you was hard enough.'

**XXX**

Santana angrily pressed the buttons on the vending machine, willing herself not to burst into tears. Pregnancy hormones _sucked. _If she had her way, she'd be screaming and crying right now, throwing people out of her way and smashing open the vending machine afterwards.

She _just _wanted twinkies.

Hitting it with frustration and letting out a groan, Santana stalked off, glaring angrily at one of the nurses that looked at her in alarm. She tried to take deep breaths- being this stressed couldn't be good for the baby.

_Baby. _It felt weird, saying that. She was still having a hard time believing that there was a baby inside her. A baby that, in just over 4 months, would be out of her, and she would be raising. As a _mom. _

She wasn't quite sure how she'd come to the decision, but it seemed fairly obvious to her. Adoption was out of the question- as a doctor, she'd _seen _mothers giving up their babies, and she was _not _going through that torture.

Then there was the whole single mom side of it- it scared her to death if she was fucking honest, but people did it all the time, right? Hell, Santana was stronger and more _able _than half of them, so she could do it. She'd gotten this far, she could handle the rest of her life too...

Even if she was basing a lot of her raising babies knowledge on books that Rachel had given to her by the barrel. Plus, she'd babysat a lot of kids when she was a teenager to make some more cash, so there was that side of things.

And Quinn and the others had promised her they'd be there for her. She was counting on them.

She turned the corner then, her eyes quickly scanning the room like they always did, as an automatic response, to see who was there. The last person her eyes fell on was looking straight back at her, her eyes blue and cheery before seeing Santana. She blinked, and her expression fell slightly- she looked uncharacteristically nervous, as if waiting for the latina to snap at her again.

She paused by the door, her eyes still locked with Brittany's. Taking a deep breath and tearing her gaze away from the woman- a struggle in itself, surprisingly- Santana moved across the room as quick as she could in her state, her chin held high as she walked straight past Brittany and through the next doors of the Pediatric Department. The hallway was empty, the kids all asleep at this time of night.

'Hey!'

Santana hesitated before turning, and saw Brittany hurrying up to her, quickly brushing her hair out of her eyes as she frowned at the brunette. Her face was unusually harsh, and- _hurt. _

Crap.

Her eyes loomed over the blonde's lips, and memories of the kiss suddenly flashed across her mind again, like it had been over and over the last few days. Shaking her head ever so slightly, she forced herself to look back at Brittany, who was watching her intently.

'Why'd you do that?' She asked softly.

'Do what?'

She rolled her eyes, moving closer. 'You ran away from me.'

When Santana didn't answer, Brittany sighed and took her arm, the contact sending jolts of electricity through her skin and making her shiver. Brittany didn't appear to notice, and led her swiftly to her office.

It was a nice place, the head of Ped's office- usually in hospitals there'd be peeling wallpaper, maybe a teddy bear that was missing an eye or something- but Brittany had decorated it almost as if it were her bedroom. Stacks of magazines were lying around, aswell as posters on the wall. There were photos too- some of her with guys, quite a few of her in bikinis, on holiday. She blushed, turning her head away as Brittany shut the door behind them.

It was basically like a teenagers bedroom, but a desk and chair in place of a bed.

'Okay, can we just talk about the giant tiger in the room?' Brittany told her, no trace of amusement on her face as she locked the office door behind her, turning to face Santana, who furrowed her brow.

'Don't you mean giant elephant?'

'Elephants are relatively calm in nature, whereas a tiger in a room would be more obtrusive.' The blonde told her calmly, and if she hadn't looked so upset, Santana would've laughed. 'Why are you avoiding me?'

'I'm not.'

'Santana-'

'I've been busy lately, okay?' She told her heatedly, Brittany not looking like she believed a word of it. 'I've had lots of surgery cases, I'm currently carrying a baby which makes me all weepy all the time, and, in case you haven't noticed, one of my best friends almost _died _and another only just recovered-' Her voice faltered a bit then, and Brittany's face softened slightly.

'I know...I know, and I'm sorry about that, you know I am. But that doesn't mean that you can use that as an excuse for avoiding me, its two completely different situations-'

'Not everything is about _you!' _Santana suddenly shouted, her anger hormones from the past couple of weeks reaching boiling point as the blonde flinched slightly, but stood her ground. 'Everything I do does not revolve around you, okay? I don't _need _that, I just need all of my energy focused on me, this baby and my career right now, okay?' She put a hand on her stomach, and Brittany's eyes flicked down to it momentarily.

There was silence in the office for a moment, before Brittany folded her arms across her chest, looking uncharacteristically sad as she swiftly moved towards Santana, barely a foot away from her.

'I never said that any of your energy needs to be focused on me.' She told her lowly, her eyes slightly pained. 'I'm just trying to understand what's going on. We-' She shook her head slightly, and Santana swallowed thickly, not sure it was wise for the blonde to be so close to her. They locked eyes, never wavering as Brittany continued. 'We were _close, _Santana, and I...we _kissed, _you know? And now you're ignoring me. Something happened, okay, and we can't just pretend nothing happened-'

'Why not?' Her voice shook, and Brittany pursed her lips for a moment.

'Do you _want _to pretend nothing happened? That it meant nothing?'

It was a simple question, but it caused santana's mind to go into overdrive, her head throbbing as she tried to control her breathing. She was just so _tired, _and so...she just need Brittany to understand, and yet she couldn't convey her feelings into suitable words...

'I'm just so confused.' She whispered, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes. Brittany nodded, her expression softer than before. She was closer now, Santana's baby bump almost brushing against her.

'I know. It's okay if you are.'

'I just...this is all so new to me, and I can't- I don't even know what I'm feeling anymore, with anything.' A tear rolled down her cheek, and she realised she was finally getting the words out. 'This wasn't how everything was supposed to be. I wasn't supposed to be _carrying_ a baby, let alone feel so attached to it. I wasn't supposed to be feeling this tired, this emotional all the time. I wasn't supposed to be so confused, y'know?'

As Brittany nodded again, her eyes trained on Santana, the latina took a shuddery breath, before looking straight into the blue eyes in front of her. 'I wasn't supposed to be kissing another girl, let alone falling for her.'

A thick silence fell over the pair again, and Santana could see the blonde processing the words, have hopeful and half confused. Letting her thoughts roam free, Santana slowly leant forward, pressing her shaking lips firmly against the other pair, before cupping Brittany's cheek in her hand. She could feel the other respond after a moment, an arm wrapping around Santana's waist as the air suddenly felt hotter.

Santana hadn't realised that she had stumbled back, Brittany blindly following her, until her back hit the wall, causing a post it note there to fall to the floor and for her to break away, panting.

It seemed sudden, all of it, and yet it took one look at Brittany's darkened eyes, her lips pink and chest heaving, to convince Santana that it was completely and utterly right.

**XXX**

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry__  
><em>_You don't know how lovely you are_

Puck rested his head against the back of the chair, sighing and closing his eyes briefly. He didn't want to keep them closed too long, otherwise he'd fall asleep for sure. He was half thankful and half still pissed at the sleeping pills Blaine and Berry had slipped him- pissed at the fact that he could've seen Quinn a lot sooner and not missed two surgeries that day, and thankful that he _did _feel a bit better after sleeping.

The 36 hours that he'd been awake had become nearly unbearable.

Once they'd gotten Quinn and Kurt back to the hospital, Puck and Blaine had been pushed to the side by the other doctors, who had insisted that they were in no state to help let alone operate on the unstable pair. While Puck had been furious at the time, he understood their decision now- what kind of mistakes would he have made if it'd been him taking care of Quinn? He shuddered at the thought, and blinked his eyes open.

It was unfair, the way she still looked pretty recovering from an accident like she had. Her hair, though limp, was fanned out around her, and looked silky soft from where he was sitting. Puck supposed that it had been due to Rachel and Kurt, who had religiously visited Quinn while she'd been asleep and brushed her hair, or filed her nails- Kurt had even added a bit of moisturiser to her face. It might've looked weird to others, but Puck knew why they had done it- it had been torture, sitting there and not knowing if she'd wake up. He almost wanted to join them, just to stop him from staring at her lifeless form for hours on end.

But she was better now, alert and awake when Finn didn't keep her on sleeping drugs. He was almost mind-numbingly thankful.

_I had to find you__  
><em>_Tell you I need you__  
><em>_Tell you I've set you apart_

Leaning forward and giving a small smile at the pout she was giving in her sleep, he took her hand between his, delicately tracing circles on her pale palm, where there were a few scratches and bruises from the accident. In fact, her whole arm seemed to be covered in them from the impact of the ambulance in the water. He felt a thrill of anger run through him, before he sighed and gripped her hand a bit tighter. It was proof that she was still alive, still a warrior- he had to remember that.

Without warning, Quinn's eyelids suddenly quivered, and as he froze in shock, fluttered open, her eyes fixed in front of her as she blinked rapidly to take in the environment. He breathed deeply as she stared around herself, his stomach churning with relief at the proof that she was _awake, _her breaths pure and full of oxygen.

'Quinn?' He asked cautiously, and her gaze immediately snapped to him in surprise.

She stared at him for a minute, as if she couldn't believe her eyes, before she gave a weak smile. He had to return it, his heart still thudding painfully.

'Hi.' She murmured, her voice croaky as he gave a relieved sigh.

'Hey. I didn't mean to wake you, I was just-' He told her, relaxing his grip on her hand and feeling slightly embarrassed.

'No no, I didn't wake up because of that, don't worry..' She trailed off, still watching him. He nodded, before looking at the floor. He had thought of _so much _he wanted to say to her while he'd been conscious for the last few days, but it seemed as if all the words had disappeared out of his brain. Instead, there was silence for a few moments, before she furrowed her brow, glancing at the window.

'How long have I been sleeping? Kurt and Sam were with me..' She trailed off, looking bemused as Puck quickly counted in his head.

'It's 3 in the morning now, so about...11 hours, I think.' He told her, and she immediately frowned, attempting to sit up straighter.

'_Crap.._' She murmured, but he quickly moved to perch on the edge of her bed so he was facing her, pushing her shoulder down slightly.

'Don't, you need your rest.'

She gave a pout again, her eyes indignant. 'People keep saying that to me-'

'Because it's _true._' He assured her, before smirking. 'I knew you'd be like this.'

'You know me too well.' She told him lightly, a hint of amusement on her face besides the exhaustion.

'I like to think so.'

_Questions of science__  
><em>_Science and progress__  
><em>_Do not speak as loud as my heart_

There was another pause as he looked down at their linked hands, before she cleared her throat and he looked back at her. He could see a question in her eyes, and his mind leapt back to the few words that he'd told himself he _would _tell her, he had to...

'Are you okay?' She asked quietly, and he paused before giving a small chuckle.

'You almost _died _and you're asking if I'm okay?' He meant for it to come out as a joke, but there was an edge to his voice as fear clutched his heart again, his mind racing back to the side of the river.

She simply nodded, wincing slightly. He noticed that by the way she was looking at him, she still expected an answer.

Looking at her for a few more seconds, he took a deep breath, as if deciding something. He could make a joke, lighten the mood somehow and tell her all about how the first thing Kurt had done when he fully regained consciousness was whine about missing some sort of fashion show, or he could...

'I'm okay. Much better, actually. I'm just glad _you're _okay.' He told her carefully, not tearing his gaze away. She gave a wry smile, nodding.

'Me too.'

'And...all of this has gotten me into thinking.' When she raised an eyebrow, he continued, swallowing thickly. He couldn't chicken out now. 'Being there, by the river with you in my arms and thinking that you were...' He trailed off, and noticed that Quinn was staring at him intensely, not being able to look away just like him. 'Thinking that I was never gonna see you again. It made me realise, that...I don't ever wanna lose you. It's not just because I care about you, or that my life's so much better since you came into it...it's because you're the most important part of me now. It's because I'm in love with you.'

His voice had cracked slightly as vulnerability swept over him, and as he finished speaking, he felt exposed, _naked _under her frozen gaze. He searched her eyes desperately, almost biting his lip in worry as he stared deep into them. But he couldn't read anything like he usually could. Just..._shock. _

Moments passed, and he was about to open his mouth and say something when Quinn's eyes suddenly welled up, and she parted her lips to say something. That's when Puck realised something was wrong...this was taking too long, she looked too upset...

_Oh tell me you love me__  
><em>_Come back and haunt me__  
><em>_Oh and I rush to the start_

'Quinn?' He asked cautiously, his voice shaking slightly. He had barely closed his mouth to finish speaking when she seemed to come to life, her eyes now glassy.

'You should go.' She told him quietly, her voice hoarse as if she'd just woken up after a hundred-year sleep. He stared at her, his face falling ever so slightly as he realised he wasn't imagining this. She was telling him to go, without saying anything back..

'What?' He questioned, panicking slightly as he racked his mind for things to say in a situation like this. He'd put himself out there...what did he do now?

'I need sleep, you should go.' She repeated, her eyes almost warningly staring at him. Her expression was pleading, and he gaped at her slightly before nodding.

'Right.' He told her, his voice low as he slowly got up, pulling his hand away from hers. She appeared to have forgotten they'd been holding hands, as her eyes flicked down to stare at her limp hand that he'd let go. She kept her eyes there, and he gave her one last look before turning towards the door.

Feeling sick to the stomach and more vulnerable than ever, Puck left her frozen on the bed, shutting the door behind him and getting as far away from that room as possible.

_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_It's such a shame for us to part__  
><em>_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_No one ever said it would be this hard_

**XXX**

Rachel had searched basically the entire hospital for him, and she had no idea why. All she knew is that now she'd told Quinn about her departure, she had no other choice but to tell him next. Ever since she'd gotten the phone call offering her a place, every time she'd looked at him, at everyone, she felt like was _cheating, _and the guilt was eating her alive.

She just hoped he'd understand.

She found him eventually outside the front doors of the hospital, staring up at the sky as if in deep thought. The moonlight bounced off of his tousled hair, his hands dug in his pockets as she slowed to a stop behind him.

There was a few moments pause as she went unnoticed, before he sighed, turning around and staring at his shoes, his mind elsewhere as he began to walk towards her. It was only as he happened to look up that he noticed her presence, and he gradually stopped, his brown eyes completely caught off guard as Rachel gave a wry smile. Finn stopped a few feet away from her, still shocked at her sudden appearance.

'Hi.' He told her, looked pleasantly surprised. 'What are you doing here? Do you need a lift or-'

'No, I only just finished my shift. There's just...something I need to tell you.' She told him, watching him cautiously. She didn't know _why _she cared so much about his reaction. They hadn't spoken in weeks, and she had no idea where she stood with him now. There was _feelings _there, of course, but...she wasn't prepared to focus entirely on them if he wasn't willing to do the same.

'Okay, go ahead.' He looked equally nervous, and she took a deep breath.

'I've been...offered a job in Boston.' A flicker of shock ran across his face, his brow gradually furrowing as Rachel continued. 'I leave in a couple of months, in September.'

There was silence as Finn stared at her, as if he still didn't understand.

'It's a really good placement.' She assured him, now saying anything to fill the silence. 'I mean, I'm gonna miss everyone here, but..' She trailed off then, his eyes flashing with something before he swallowed, raising his eyebrows.

'That's great, I guess.' He told her, his voice strained. She nodded, giving a sad smile. She couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened by his reaction. Then again, what had she been expecting?

'Yeah, it is.' She took a deep breath as he continued to stare at her, and felt slightly sick. She thought telling him would make her feel better, but now...she just felt even worse. It was almost as bad as having to tell Quinn.

_Running in circles__  
><em>_Chasing our tails__  
><em>_Coming back as we are_

'Well I have to go now, I'm pretty tired after today...' She told him, swiftly moving past him as she took a shuddery breath. She was just moving towards her car when-

'Rachel!' She turned immediately as he called out, and he watched her, something unreadable in his eyes as he dug his hands further into his pockets, looking uncomfortable. Rachel watched him questioningly, and he opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he spoke. 'I'm proud of you.' He told her genuinely, and she nodded yet again, feeling sadness wash over her.

'Thank you. That means a lot, to me.' She assured him, and he gave a sad smile before she turned slowly on her heel, swallowing back bitter tears before almost jogging to her car.

_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_Oh, it's such a shame for us to part__  
><em>_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_No one ever said it would be so hard_

* * *

><p><em>So first of all, I'm apologising to you guys for making you all think that Quinn was actually dead last chapter. While I'm pleased that my intentions as a writer (to get you guys to freak the hell out before you find out she's actually okay) were fulfilled, I'm sorry about that :P Don't worry, I'm not planning on killing off Quinn...yet...<em>

_Kidding, don't worry. So, thank you sooo much for all of the reviews last chapter, I love you all so much for following this story. I hope you're pleased with how it's developing, and I hope you enjoy the last two or three chapters. I'm not sure when i'll get to updating them, because I'm working on another two projects at the minute (if you're interested, let me know!), but I promise I won't leave it too long. I'll tell you this though- the end of next chapter I'm 99% sure you will definitely NOT see coming. Also, I'm afraid there's a bit of drama to come before we get the happy ending._

_Then again, did I say ending? There's always the sequel, of course. _

_Anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you think! And follow me on tumblr- _**wild-blessed-freedom **:)


	14. Without You

**Chapter 13: Without You**

'_It's easier to be alone...because, what if you learn that you need love, and then you don't have it?'_

* * *

><p>The small knot in her brow when she's concentrating. The way she doesn't quite bite her bottom lip, but nips at it with her teeth. The way she hurriedly pulls her hair into a lazy bun on top of her head when she's feeling stressed and needs to distract herself. The special smile she reserves for her youngest patients in the Peds war.<p>

They're all things that Santana has begun to notice, and she's baffled that she's missed them in the months before they slept together.

Of course, she'd noticed the more _obvious _quirks of Brittany, but now it felt almost like she'd been looking at the woman with a completely different perspective, through a completely different set of eyes.

Now she noticed even the tiniest flaws, if you could even call them that.

The way Brittany sat sometimes, slumped down in her chair with her legs crossed lazily. Some would probably find it boyish, maybe even ungraceful. To Santana, however, Brittany made it look like the most adorable position in the world. The way she would automatically look at someone with care and optimism, as if there wasn't such a thing as evil in the world. Some may have seen that as stupidity and recklessness, but to Santana, it was one of the most beautiful characteristics she'd ever come across.

Maybe it was because they'd _been _together. They'd _seen _each other at their most vulnerable and exposed, and loved every second of it.

They hadn't really addressed the night together in Brittany's office, but Santana knew that's what she had felt. What she _still _felt.

And yet, the fact that they hadn't addressed the night was basically her fault. The fact that when it was just the two of them in a room together, the tension was undesirable, not comfortable or appealing in the slightest.

The fact that two months had passed since that night, and Santana had claimed she'd been too busy preparing for her baby that she didn't have time to consider a relationship.

Maybe she was just too scared. That's what Kurt had gently suggested to her, and he was probably right.

She was new to this, she hadn't been in a genuine, loving _relationship _with anyone, let alone another woman. The fact that she could get it wrong, hurt Brittany in anyway- _that's _what scared her so much. Of all the things she had done in her life, or the things that she might do in the future, she refused to breaking Brittany's heart be one of them.

So they didn't talk about it. They acted as co-workers until Santana began maternity leave weeks beforehand, and then they'd only really see eachother for check-ups or around the hospital. Part of Santana was relieved, but the other part yearned for Brittany like too far a distance would break her heart. She had fallen for her way too fast to be considered normal.

Which is why she now found herself walking around the hospital until she found the blonde, instead of simply asking the other OB that was currently in the Peds department.

Suddenly she caught sight of the woman she was looking for, about to get in the elevator, and she shouted out before she knew what she was doing.

'Dr Pierce!'

Brittany's head whipped around, and Santana struggled to read her expression as she hurried (well, waddled in her current large-bellied state) towards the elevator doors where she waited. There was something defensive and slightly put off about the expression that made Santana regret everything she'd said and done in the past few months. Including calling her 'Dr Pierce' instead of Brittany.

'Santana, what can I do for you?' Brittany questioned professionally, both of them stepping into the woefully empty elevator as the other woman jabbed the buttons and the doors closed.

'Umm...' Santana worked out about a week ago that she would absent-mindedly count the days between when she saw Brittany, and she realised now that it had been about 5. It hurt her heart, and she was unbelievably tempted to hug the blonde and apologise profusely right in that elevator. 'I wanted to ask you something about the pregnancy that's been bothering me.' She told her, before repeating the symptoms she'd told Quinn, Kurt and Rachel about as Brittany listened intently.

The past few days had been stressful for Santana, as she found herself more uncomfortable than ever, and not just because her bump was huge now, her baby ever-growing. There was something almost _painful _about it- not enough to be alarming and for her to be proclaimed a neglecting mother, but enough to make her feel as if something wasn't quite right with it all.

Brittany's face had grown from guarded to concerned, and Santana was grateful that things were going almost back to normal as Brittany placed a hand on her swollen belly.

'And how long have you had it for?'

'About 4 days or so. I was gonna come in sooner but Rachel's been decorating, and it's really not best to leave her on her own. Plus Quinn's been absolutely torn up over the whole Puck thing so-' She rambled on, wanting to tell Brittany _everything _and confide in her before she noticed the blonde's slight smile and stopped abruptly. 'Sorry. I just...'

'I know.' Brittany told her lightly, and Santana wanted to frown, because she _didn't _know...as far as Brittany was concerned, Santana had slept with her and then completely ditched her, and she didn't understand how she felt for her at all.

The doors opened then, and Brittany put a hand on her arm. 'Listen, come by my office at 9:30 and we'll do a quick scan to check and see if anything's wrong. Until then...take it easy.'

Santana nodded gratefully as she stared at her eyes, hoping that Brittany would understand how sorry she was, how much she wished that she wasn't so scared...

But Brittany simply gave a small, sad smile and turned away, walking straight out of the elevator and leaving the doors to close behind her.

...

'Santana wants another sandwich.' Rachel told Kurt as she wandered into the kitchen where the man was sat by the counter texting. He looked up in disbelief, glancing at Quinn who just looked back at him as if it was the most basic demand in the world. In that household lately, it was. They'd become Santana's somewhat servants as her hormones raged and the baby grew.

'Wha- I just made her one barely 10 minutes ago!'

'She's hungry again.' Rachel shrugged, making a cup of coffee as Kurt stood up sharply. 'She said no mayo this time.'

'_I said _extra _mayo!' _Santana suddenly called from the other room where she was lounging on the couch watching the Harry Potter films. None of them knew why she had such an obsession with them, especially the sixth one, one she could be found watching at least twice a day.

'Get up and tell me yourself then, you're pregnant, not without legs!' Kurt shouted back as he smothered a piece of bread with mayo, half tempted to just place a jar between two pieces of bread. Last time he'd tried to make a joke about her cravings though, he'd ended up with a 'playful' yet painful punch to the shoulder.

'_Screw you Hummel.' _Santana snorted back, and Rachel glanced to her right to see Quinn with a small smile on her face. She looked as tired and depressed as she had done for the last two months, and Rachel was finding this behaviour almost _normal _now, which scared her.

'Quinn?' She asked cautiously as Kurt went to give Santana her sandwich. 'Got any surgeries today?'

Quinn gulped a bit of tea before answering back. 'Observing a Craniotomy at 2 with Dr Schue, then Blaine's letting me and Kurt watch a nose reconstruction at 6.' She answered quietly, looking vaguely pleased.

Rachel nodded encouragingly, smiling as she tried to gauge a bigger reaction out of the girl. Months ago, her best friend would be _dancing _around the kitchen in excitement. Now though...

'I'll get it!' Kurt yelled as the doorbell went, and Rachel edged closer to Quinn.

'That sounds good, right?'

Quinn was about to reply when Kurt came hurrying into the kitchen, his face cautious.

'Quinn, there's...someone here for you.'

Both Quinn and Rachel paused and stared at Kurt, whose face told Rachel exactly who was at the door, and why Quinn was now looking down at her big jumper and sweats with distaste and raking her fingers hurriedly through her newly cut hair.

As Quinn hurried out of the kitchen, Rachel exchanged a glance with Kurt before following her to hallway, where Santana was stood in front of Puck, hands on hips as she stared the man down.

'...shouldn't even be here.' She finished before Quinn wandered into the room, and Puck's attention immediately went to her. Rachel watched as multiple expressions ran across his face before settling on determination, and Quinn's remained in pure shock.

'Hi.' The blonde began timidly, stepping forward as Santana reluctantly stepped back.

'Hey.' Puck murmured, and an awkward silence filled the room before Kurt jumped into action, grabbing both hers and Santana's arms and pulling them back towards the kitchen before shutting the door, murmuring about giving the pair privacy as he did so.

'You better hope these doors aren't soundproof.' Santana murmured as she pressed her ear against the wood, Kurt rolling her eyes as he did the same.

'Why would they be? I doubt Quinn has had time to practise her opera singing what with all the med-school and being a doctor-' He snapped back in a whisper before Rachel prodded him and all three listened intently.

'What are you doing here?' Quinn asked cautiously, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. He was _here, _after months of the pair avoiding each other he was genuinely _here._

'We need to straighten things out.' He told her after a long pause, breathing deeply as if he'd been running.

'O-okay.' She answered, suddenly unsure of what to say. She'd gone over how this moment should go countless times in her head, thought of many scenarios. Him breaking down, her breaking down, her begging him to stay, him repeating that she loved her...all were almost embarrassingly dramatic, but Quinn had so many pent up feelings inside of her that she wanted to get them all out, even if they were painfully dramatic and she ended up in tears.

But here they stood, as if they were strangers that weren't quite sure why they were both there.

Quinn watched as annoyance briefly flickered across Puck's face, and her heart dropped into her stomach.

'I thought...well, I gotta admit, I thought you'd have more to say.' He told her, looking completely bewildered and suddenly a bit fed up.

'Well you were the one that turned up on my door, aren't you the one that's supposed to be saying something?' She almost snapped back, and his jaw clenched.

'Why, because everything's my fault? Am _I _supposed to do all the work here?' He jabbed himself in the chest, his voice raising ever so slightly.

'No, but-' She could feel herself getting more and more annoyed as he grew more angry, countless emotions welling up inside of her and yet she could find no way to get the proper words out.

'Because you can't do anything wrong, can you? _I'm _the one with the problems here, it's not like you led me on or anything!'

'Led you- how on _Earth _did I lead you on Puck?' She demanded, now matching his angry tone with her own. It had been weeks since she'd felt this angry, spoken this loudly, and her cracking voice proved this.

'Let's see shall we- you slept with me, shunned me, you kissed Finn barely hours after almost kissing me-'

'Because I was drunk!' She yelled at him, livid that he would bring that up _now._

'Then, when you finally agree to give me a chance and I try to prove to you that I could make you happy, and you basically _die in my arms, _you completely blow me off!'

There was silence for a moment as Puck stared at her with angry and hurt eyes, and she stared at the floor, suddenly feeling very fragile.

'Almost drowning to death wasn't my fault, you know that.' Her voice had lowered to a hoarse whisper, and Puck's eyes briefly softened before clouding over again.

'I know, but that's not why I'm upset-' He told her loudly, and she retaliated with the same ferocity, hoarse whisper gone.

'Then why are you?'

'Because I said I loved you and you didn't say it back!' He yelled, and Quinn felt her eyes widen as she shook from the impact both his words and his tone left on her.

Puck pressed his hands together and raised them to his lips in agitation before taking a deep breath. 'Actually, you know what- no, you didn't even need to say it back. I would never want you to say you love me if you didn't mean it.'

'But Puck I-' She began tearfully, but he continued anyway.

'No, I shouldn't have said it like that.' His voice had lowered now, possibly because the kitchen door had now opened and Quinn was vaguely aware of her three friends quietly entering the room behind her, but she couldn't pay any attention to them now. 'I just...' He looked helpless for a moment before continuing. 'I just needed _something _to let me know that you still cared. That I wasn't crazy, that- that you actually had feelings for me, like I did for you.'

'Puck-'

'So I thought that maybe you needed time, to figure out how you felt. But then you _ignored _me Quinn, for the last two months you've avoided me like the plague and I don't even understand why.' The betrayal and hurt he felt was palpable now, and Quinn could feel herself shaking with unreleased sobs. 'Did you ever care? Did you ever even have feelings for me, or was it all about you giving in to me just so I would stop pressuring you to go out with me?'

Quinn shook her head desperately. 'No- Puck, it was _never _about that-'

Puck nodded, as if he believed her slightly, before asking- 'Then what was it about?'

_I'm scared._

'I-' She felt her throat close, and closed her eyes, shaking her head as her whole body trembled. She couldn't even speak.

'That's what I thought.' Puck said tightly, and Quinn opened her eyes to see his eyes slightly red, and felt her heart break. 'I just wish I'd known this was going to happen before I let myself fall in love with you.'

And with that he turned around, not once looking back as he shut the front door behind him.

As a sob escaped her throat, she felt her heart shatter.

...

At 9:15pm, Santana made her way towards the Peds department, thoroughly shaken by the events of the afternoon and feeling increasingly nervous about her pregnancy. She kept rubbing soothing circles on her belly, as if to reassure the baby that she was doing everything in her power to keep them both safe, and that they shouldn't make any rash decisions or anything.

Images of both Puck and Quinn's broken faces kept flashing through her mind as she approached the doors of the department, and she was desperate to see Brittany. She'd arrived early for one main reason: she needed to straighten all of this with Brittany out. She wasn't about to let the pair of them turn into Puck and Quinn- while she knew the pair would work it out, she couldn't bear to let Brittany hurt like that.

So here she was. She was ready to tell Brittany how she felt, how she loved her and how she wanted to make things between them work. She was done being scared. It would get her nowhere.

She smiled slightly, placing a hand on her belly as she moved towards the room she was supposed to meet Brittany in. Rachel was looking after Quinn at home, so she had time to do this...she had to...

She turned the corner to the room, slowing down when she approached the door. She could hear Brittany's laughter, aswell as another voice in the room...edging closer, she saw that it was a woman stood across from Brittany, another nurse, tall and with sleek red hair that cascaded down her back. Her eyes were blue and friendly, her lips moving rapidly as she chatted to Brittany, who watched with amusement and genuine curiosity...

Santana felt something well up inside her as she lingered near the door, unnoticed by both of them.

'Such a nice colour-' The woman told Brittany, reaching up to gently pat the blonde hair as Brittany laughed and Santana fleetingly saw red.

She cleared her throat, and Brittany's eyes darted to the door, her smile fading slightly as her eyes became surprised, but pleasantly so. 'Santana, hi!'

'Sorry if I'm interrupting.' Santana told them a little more harshly than intended, as the red-haired woman looked at her with curiosity.

'No, not at all-' Brittany told her genuinely, smiling but looking a little bewildered at Santana's expressionless face. 'Alice, this is Santana, Santana, this is Alice.' She told them, gesturing between the two, and Santana gave Alice a stiff smile.

Alice looked a bit surprised for a moment before her mouth formed an 'o', and she glanced at Brittany for a moment before staring at Santana's swollen belly. She put her hands over it protectively.

'Oh, the pregnant one.' Alice murmured as if Santana couldn't hear her, before moving forward.

'I'll leave you two for a moment-'

'No it's fine, I was just leaving.' Santana told them, her voice shaking slightly with hurt and anger. _The pregnant one. _Was that how Brittany referred to her to the other doctors and nurses? She was just _the pregnant one? _

'But your appointment?' Brittany asked, looking confused as Alice edged out of the room past Santana.

'We'll do it another day.'

She turned and walked away, hurrying as fast as her feet could carry her as she choked back tears. She could vaguely hear Brittany calling after her, but she hurried into an elevator before she could be confronted.

Looks like she was the one getting hurt after all.

...

'How're you feeling?'

Quinn turned over on her bed to see Rachel standing by the door, a cup of tea and a sandwich in her hand.

'A bit better.' She answered, not even telling the truth but not wanting to have Rachel as her shoulder to cry on for the second time that day. She would be strong...she wouldn't break down again...

Rachel scrutinized her best friend's expression for a moment before giving a wry smile and stepping further into the room, closing the door behind her and turning on a lamp at Quinn's bedside. Quinn winced at the bright light, shielding her eyes and frowning at the brunette now perched on the side of her bed.

'Eat.' Rachel told her, handing her the sandwich and raising her eyebrows until Quinn took it, aswell as the cup of tea.

Quinn had to admit, Rachel was great at making sandwiches. As she ate, she watched as Rachel absent-mindedly folded some of the clothes strewn across the bed into neat little piles, and a pang of sadness and anxiety flew across Quinn's chest for the umpteenth time over the past few months.

'What am I gonna do without you, huh?' She murmured quietly, giving a shaky laugh and hoping that Rachel didn't notice how desperate she was for her to stay. She knew it was an amazing opportunity for Rachel- hell, she would've taken it had she been offered it- but she couldn't help but wish there was some way...

Rachel gave a small, sad smile. 'You'll get by.'

Quinn nodded silently, hoping that the words were true. After being with her best friend for so long, she couldn't imagine being without her.

'Plus I'll never be _gone _gone, I'll always visit. You can't get rid of me that easily.' She gave a shaky laugh, and Quinn chuckled.

'Like I'd ever want to.' She told her genuinely. 'It'll just be so different...lonelier.'

A wave of sadness washed over Rachel's face, and she bit her lip, holding back what she assumed to be tears before giving another small smile. 'Don't say that, you'll have Santana, Kurt, Sam...' She hesitated before- '...Puck.'

Quinn's eyes darted to Rachel's face, momentarily shocked before she shook her head, feeling a headache approaching.

'Rach, it's over, forget it.'

'It's not over unless you let it be!' Rachel told her pleadingly, suddenly sitting up straighter and leaning forward.

'Yeah, well I am letting it. He's made it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me.'

'Because he thinks you're using him and don't care for him, and you and i both know that that isn't true.' Rachel sighed, tugging on Quinn's sleeve when she refused to look at her. 'You love him, Quinn.'

Quinn looked like she was about to say something, then paused and stared off into the distance. There was silence for a moment before she spoke again. 'I just don't see how we can get past this.'

Rachel contemplated this before answering softly- 'I think only you know the answer to that.'

When Quinn still didn't answer, just stared at Rachel with a pained expression on her face, Rachel sighed yet again. 'Just go with your heart on this one Quinn. If you keep going over these things in your mind, you're gonna go insane. And lose the one guy you don't seem to wanna live without.'

There was silence for a long time after that before Quinn slowly nodded and sat up, her eyes suddenly alight as she got up off the bed.

'Where are you going?'

Quinn yanked on a pair of jeans and ran a brush through her hair before answering and hurrying down the hall.

'I know what the answer is.'

...

_Was a long and dark December__  
><em>_From the rooftops I remember__  
><em>_There was snow__  
><em>_White snow_

'Come on baby, go to sleep now..' Santana sighed, feeling more awake than ever as she stared up at the dark ceiling of the sitting room. She had been lying there for hours now, and when it was time for bed, she hadn't had the energy to move to her own bed. Instead, she laid there rubbing soothing circles on her large belly, trying to think of happier thoughts, like whether her baby would be a boy or a girl in two months time, and avoiding thinking of a certain blonde...

She glanced at the clock, seeing what time she had awoken to. 4:13am. She'd heard Quinn leave a while ago, lord knows where to- she'd shouted out that she hadn't know she had an early shift, but the blonde had rushed past her and ignored Santana's words. Kurt was at the hospital with Rachel for their early shifts, leaving Santana pregnant and alone in the house.

_Alone._

In almost cruel irony, there was a sudden large rapping on the door over the pouring rain outside, and Santana started slightly. Who the hell would be knocking at that time in the morning? It had to be a doctor, no-one else in their right mind would...but the other three all had their keys...

Heaving herself towards the door, she wondered if it was safe, a pregnant woman answering the door at this time in the morning...well, she'd soon find out...

She threw the door open, her shoulders slumping when she saw who was there.

'Brittany.'

...

_Clearly I remember__  
><em>_From the windows they were watching__  
><em>_While we froze__  
><em>_Down below_

_Crack._

The second small stone hit the 2nd floor window better than the last had, and Quinn was glad. Frankly she didn't care whose window she hit, Puck or Finn's, she just needed to get what she was thinking off of her chest before she became too fearful again and ran home.

Moments passed, before the sudden flash of light behind the window's curtains told her that _somebody _had heard, and was hopefully making their way towards the window as she stood there, soaking wet and freezing to the bone.

Truth be told, if the universe was trying to tell her things, it was either that she should have waited for a better night to do this, or that she deserved the freezing cold rain and thunder after all that she'd done.

Quinn waited with baited breath and a thumping heart as a silhouette appeared behind the window. She knew by just seeing his form that it was Puck, and prepared herself mentally as the curtain flickered slightly, as if he was seeing who was out there. She steeled herself; would he see who it was and then close the curtains again? Would he toss her an umbrella and then go back to bed?

Luckily, moments after the curtain flickered, she could hear the rusty frame creaking as Puck forced the window open, and his bewildered face appeared as she grinned despite herself.

'Quinn?' He yelled down above the rain, confusion etched in his slightly harsh tone.

'Puck!'

'What the hell are you doing here?' They both had to shout to be able to hear each other, but Quinn could tell even over the downpour and his confusion, he was still mad at her. Taking a deep breath and not letting that get to her, she moved forward as if it would help her case.

'I needed to talk to you-'

'You couldn't have done it over the phone?' He shouted, gesturing to the rain. 'You'll freeze to death!'

'Not if you hear me out because I'm not leaving until you do.' She replied, staring at him with pleading eyes as he watched her cautiously. 'I'll stay all night if I have to.' She added, folding her arms across her chest.

Puck seemed to deliberate for a moment before suddenly closing the window, and a chill that had nothing to do with the rain ran down her spine. _What if he was taking her up on that offer, and seeing how long she would stay? Was he testing her?_

She didn't have long to test that theory however, when the front door suddenly opened and Puck walked out, only wearing a jumper and jeans. His face was hard and set as he walked towards her, stopping when he was face to face from her.

'So?'

...

_If you love me__  
><em>_Won't you let me know?_

'Brittany, what are you doing here?' Santana questioned, her heart jumping into her throat as she stared at the blonde, who seemed to be deliberating over something in her mind. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, chewing on her lip as she avoided Santana's eyes. She didn't seem mad, but her body language and eyes made Santana nervous nonetheless.

'Can I come in?'

Santana silently gestured for her to enter the hall, and closed the door after to shut the cold air out. She put her hands over her baby bump, and the house was silent for a few moments with only the pouring rain and thunder being audible.

'Do you want a dri-'

'I need to understand something, Santana.' Brittany suddenly burst out, her eyes fixated on an umbrella stand a few metres behind Santana, who nodded slowly.

'Okay...'

Brittany's eyes suddenly flickered up to hers, and she was caught off guard by the intensity of them. 'What is this to you? What are we?'

Santana swallowed, her heart racing as she realised that the inevitable had happened- she was being confronted, forced to face up to her feelings. She had known that she couldn't run away forever, but- she still didn't have any answers. And here Brittany was, looking at her with such pleading and hurt eyes that she knew she needed to give some.

'I'm...I mean...' She stumbled on words, trying to understand what both her mind and heart was telling her all at once.

'Because, I thought we had something pretty special. Everything seemed to be okay, and I thought that it would be even better after that night in my office, but it just...' Brittany let out a sigh of frustration unlike her usual self, running a hand through her hair impatiently. 'What happened? Why did you give up?'

Santana furrowed her brow, confused by this. 'I never...I never gave up. I've just been trying to figure everything out, but I don't know how.'

'What is there to figure out?' Brittany questioned, and Santana realised with an empty sadness that Brittany honestly had no idea of the turmoil that Santana was going through at the minute, the inner conflict.

'I don't know Brit, everything?' She snapped back, surprising both herself and Brittany with her sharp tone. 'You don't understand what it's like, you've never- you _knew _that you liked boys and girls, but I've only ever liked boys, and now suddenly I'm-' She stopped herself suddenly, realising what she had been about to say. The realisation caused her to pause, to evaluate everything she was saying as she realised that the truth both terrified and thrilled her.

'You're what, Santana?' From Brittany's tone and the way she stopped forward, Santana knew that she knew it too.

_I'm in love with you._

...

_I don't want to be a soldier__  
><em>_Who the captain of some sinking ship__  
><em>_Would stow, far below_

Puck looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to speak as he dug his hands on his pockets. Quinn suddenly felt lost for words, she was so glad he had come down to talk to her. She stumbled for a second before gesturing to him.

'You should've but something warmer on.'

'You didn't. If you freeze, I freeze.'

She saw a flicker of softness in his eyes before it was gone again, and she took a deep breath.

'So what's this about Quinn? I doubt you're freezing your ass off out here to just wake me up at 4:30am.'

A pause, before- 'I was an idiot this afternoon. I should have never- I'm sorry okay, I was just so upset that you were angry, and saying all those things that I wasn't prepared to hear, and I was angry at _myself _because I knew that I was the one to blame here. Not you.'

Puck nodded to show he was listening, so she continued quickly.

'I need you to know- me saying I'd go out with you, was never, _ever _just a ploy to stop you from flirting with me. It's never been a ploy, okay? I've always...I've always wanted to be with you. Trust me, I'm not an idiot, had I not wanted to be with you, I would've said so.'

He was looking at her like he didn't understand why she was saying these things, and she began to panic. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

'This isn't how it's supposed to be.' She repeated her thoughts out loud, wiping her drenched hair out of her face as she furrowed her brow. 'I just- I don't know how to tell you how much you mean to me, I don't know how to put it into words.'

Puck paused, before a flicker of amusement ran across his face. 'Try.' He told her, and the fact that he wasn't just listening for the sake of it, the fact that he was actually wanting to know what she had to say and making her work for his attention spurred her on.

'Okay. I was scared. You were so persistent, and I kept telling myself that I shouldn't make too big a deal out of it, I shouldn't let myself get wrapped up in it, because no one had ever shown me as much attention as you had. I mean, ever since- ever since high school, I've never let my guard down after what happened with my pregnancy. I'm not using it as a sob story to try and justify all of this, but it's true.'

Her words came out in a rush now, and her voice was going raw from shouting over the rain. But he was still there, still listening, which meant she'd keep going.

'But even though that guard had kept so many other people away, you managed to get past it. I was scared. Scared that you had managed to, and scared that I actually didn't _mind. _Because I was willing to take a chance on you, and I was willing to let myself fall for you. Above all of the other people that have come and gone into my life, I was willing to let myself love _you. _Even though I had met you only months ago, and I had shot you down so many times.'

She felt ten times lighter as she told him all of this, watching as a flicker of hope darted across his face and his stature softened, though he kept his hands in his pockets.

'So I know you have a thousand reasons to hate me, a thousand reasons why you should turn around, go to bed and ignore me for the rest of your lives, but if there's any way that you're willing to make this work...' She gave a small smile despite herself- 'Then I'm here, and I love you, and I'm willing to tell you that a thousand times over...one for each reason.'

...

_Tell her._

_Tell her that you love her._

'I can't.' Santana whimpered slightly, suddenly feeling so small and vulnerable as Brittany's hopeful expression was taken over by a crestfallen one, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

There was silence for a few moments, and Santana felt as if her whole body was throbbing in anguish. A flash of lightning lit the hall for a few seconds, illuminating Brittany as she stepped towards Santana. The tear in her eye almost broke Santana's heart.

'I love you, Santana. I love you and I'm not afraid to say it.' She shrugged, and Santana felt numb at the thought that the blonde had said the one thing she couldn't, the one thing she was afraid to do. 'Okay, I _get _that you're struggling right now, and I'm trying really hard to understand what you want, but...I don't know how long I can wait.'

She knew she shouldn't have said anything, but it came out of her mouth regardless of what her brain was telling her. 'Until you run into the arms of that redhead?'

Brittany frowned in confusion, before looking slightly angry again. 'What, Alice? Is _that _why you ran away earlier?'

'I just didn't fancy watching you flirt with-'

'Alice is straight, Santana!' Brittany rose her voice until it was almost a shout, losing her temper completely. 'She has a husband and two kids, as well as another one on the way! We were just arranging a scan for her, what, did you think that I was sleeping with her?'

As Brittany watched her accusingly, Santana stumbled on speech, actually feeling rather ashamed and embarrassed now.

'She called me _the pregnant one.' _She murmured, and wasn't exactly surprised when Brittany rolled her eyes.

'It's code. She's one of my closest friends and I tell her a lot, _including _about you. She just wanted to make sure that you were _the _Santana that I always talk to her about. So I'm sorry if you were offended that she called you _the pregnant one, _but she and I both know that it would be an awkward situation if she said 'Oh is that the one that you've loved for months and the reason you haven't been able to look at another woman or man the same way since.'

Another pause filled the room before Santana found her voice again. 'Months?' She asked, feeling both shocked and elated at this information.

'Yes, _months.' _Brittany told her quietly. 'You know what, that doesn't even seem to be important anymore. Because apparently, I'm gonna be waiting for many more.'

She found herself motionless and numb as Brittany suddenly hurried past her, throwing the door open and heading out into the rain before Santana could say another word.

...

'You...love me?'

The uncertainty in his voice made Quinn smile slightly, with both the knowledge that she'd finally told him and the fact that he was still there with her making her want to laugh.

'Do I need to say it again?'

Puck shrugged, and she could see the corners of his lips lifting. 'It could help.'

Quinn took a breath before cautiously taking a step forward, looking him in the eyes as he looked down at her, slightly afraid. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he raised a hand to stop her, stepping closer until they were barely 2 feet apart.

'Wait- Quinn, don't- I mean, don't say it because you feel like you have to. I don't think I can go through all that pain of losing you again. I can't handle it.'

The vulnerability he felt was evident, and Quinn moved forward even more, reaching forward to put her numb hands on his sopping wet sweater. She looked up at him, their faces so close and yet too far.

'I love you, and you never have to lose me again.'

It was Puck that closed the gap this time, pressing his lips against hers and spreading warmth throughout her whole body as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

...

_So if you love me__  
><em>_Why'd you let me go?_

Santana barely registered that she was moving upstairs until she found herself at the top of them, standing, feeling numb and empty with her shoulders slumped. A dull ache was spreading through her entire body, but that could barely distract her from the turmoil in her mind.

She dragged herself towards the bathroom, her limbs feeling ten times heavier than they should've been as she tried to go over what had just happened in her mind.

She was an idiot, that much she knew. She couldn't believe she'd let herself become this afraid, this nervous to be true to herself and to others she loved. All she had to do was love Brittany- well, she already did, but she needed to _show _her and everyone else that. She needed to shout it at the top of her lungs and declare it to the world.

Because she _loved _Brittany, and she never wanted to let her go.

Santana stared at herself in the mirror, searching her face for that passion and determination that she hadn't seen in such a long time. What had happened to her? She didn't think love would feel like this. Sure, the love she felt for Brittany was a joy she hadn't found anywhere else (apart from her baby, but these were two very different kinds of love), but it was also all-consuming, and mind-robbing.

She noticed how pale she was, and pressed a hand against her cheek as the other gripped the sink. The stress from seeing Brittany had left her feverish, the dull feeling stronger now.

But no. The dull was growing painful, almost as if all the pain throughout her body was flowing to one part, a part that she had sworn to protect-

Santana let out a yelp as a sudden rush of pain darted across her lower belly, and one hand gripped the sink, turning her knuckles white as the other arm wrapped around her swollen stomach protectively. She squeezed her eyes shut until the pain passed. It left almost as quickly as it had come, and she stepped away from the sink, relaxing slightly but keeping an arm wrapped around herself.

A moment's relief, before-

'Ahh-' She couldn't hold back a whimper as an even stronger pain emerged, causing her to almost double over in pain. She could feel her heart beating rapidly as her mind began to panic.

_No. This isn't happening. Not now, it's too early._

Something about it wasn't right. This wasn't contractions, this-

Santana gasped as she felt something warm run down her leg, followed by increasing pain in her belly as she cried out repeatedly, unable to stop herself. Slowly, she reached down to her leg, pressing her hand gently against her pyjama bottoms. She lifted it back up just as slowly as she had reached down.

It came back coated in blood.

_I took my love down to Violet Hill__  
><em>_There we sat in snow__  
><em>_All that time she was silent still_

'No-' Santana looked down to where the blood was soaking the pale blue cotton, and finally succumbed to the pain as she doubled over, her legs giving way.

Or was it the fact that she could no longer support herself that made her collapse? She felt as if her legs were turning to jelly, and even the pain was dulling now. All she felt was panic, and the painful realisation that she couldn't even _move _to help herself.

'Brittany!' She yelled out as loud as she could, her voice raw and shrill as she cried out desperately.

_Please come back. Please come back._

'Help-' She murmured, her mind growing fuzzier until all she could see was a blur of red, and all she could feel was the cool white tiles against her skin.

This time she screamed as loud as she could possibly manage, knowing that this would be her last attempt to do so.

'BRITTANY!'

_So if you love me__  
><em>_Won't you let me know?_

* * *

><p><em><em>_Okay, I'm not gonna list here the reasons why it's been so long I've updated, because I'm sure you're not that interested :P What I will say, is that I'm so, so sorry for the huge delay. I know how frustrating it is for a story i'm subscribed to to take months to update, and I always told myself I wouldn't do that. However, life does get in the way of writing sometimes, so I'm sorry._

_Really hope that this chapter makes up for it, and hopefully the final chapter too! I'm not sure when that will be updated, but I'd like to think within the next 3 weeks or so...please review and let me know what you think, I'm kinda nervous about this one. Thanks for reading guys, love you all._


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